--- title: Why the Plagiarism Problem Matters description: A plagiarism charge against Melania Trump takes center stage. Hillary Clinton explains why using a private email server was wrong. canonical: https://time.com/4412373/why-the-plagiarism-problem-matters/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-19T14:55:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:21:11.819Z article:section: Politics og:title: Why the Plagiarism Problem Matters og:description: A plagiarism charge against Melania Trump takes center stage. Hillary Clinton explains why using a private email server was wrong. og:url: https://time.com/4412373/why-the-plagiarism-problem-matters/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7599d5f9b2ee9336/69889c815f570f5616b21c2b/donald-trump-plagarism-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Republican National Convention: Day One og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why the Plagiarism Problem Matters twitter:description: A plagiarism charge against Melania Trump takes center stage. Hillary Clinton explains why using a private email server was wrong. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7599d5f9b2ee9336/69889c815f570f5616b21c2b/donald-trump-plagarism-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why the Plagiarism Problem Matters > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=307f64db-08d8-482b-a396-f1cb36b78858&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jul 19, 2016 2:55 PM UTC  Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump walks on stage to introduce his wife Melania on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on July 18, 2016. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump walks on stage to introduce his wife Melania on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on July 18, 2016. Joe Raedle—Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jul 19, 2016 2:55 PM UTC **_If you only read one thing:_** _Of all the ways Republicans feared the Donald Trump convention would have hit a speed bump, a plagiarism charge against the candidate’s wife was the last thing on their minds. Sure, they expected a delegate kerfuffle over the party rules as #NeverTrump met its end, but the apparent copying of about 50 words of Michelle Obama’s 2008 convention speech in support of her husband was an unforced error that threatened to overshadow the otherwise golden moment for the Trump campaign. Conventions are multi-day infomercials scripted down to the second, offering campaigns their only opportunity at complete message control, and the sloppiness of Trump team points to a larger problem with the organization. While Trump initially told reporters she wrote the speech herself, the campaign backtracked swiftly to say she worked with a team of writers over the course of a month. Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort accused the press of engaging in a political witch-hunt, saying he didn’t see any plagiarism. “They’re not words that are unique words,” he told TIME._ Trump’s convention had the look and feel of a traditional political convention, but the message was more designed to tap into the conservative id than the general electorate. With a focus on illegal immigration, Benghazi and police shootings, the opening night featured conservative tropes and speakers who have made their buck on the conservative speaking circuit. To a certain extent, it’s out of necessity, as Trump is still struggling to unify the GOP. Hillary Clinton’s explanation for why her use of a private email server was wrong. The protest scene in Cleveland. And the most political foods in America. Here are your must-reads for now. We’ll be back with more from Cleveland this evening: **Must Reads** [Donald Trump’s Raucous Convention Opens Unconventionally ](http://time.com/4412088/republican-convention-donald-trump-day-one/)Three television stars. Two Trumps. And one tampon joke. \[TIME\] [Pro-Trump, Anti-Trump Protesters Agree: The Other Side is Brainwashed ](http://time.com/4411971/republican-convention-protests-black-lives-matter/)The scene in Cleveland \[TIME\] [Melania Trump Uses Phrases From Michelle Obama’s 2008 Convention Speech ](http://time.com/4412175/republican-convention-melania-trump-michelle-obama/)Plagiarism charges mar well-received speech \[TIME\] [Convention Floor Erupts After Never Trump Action Fails ](http://time.com/4411116/republican-convention-never-trump-floor-protest/)The end of Never Trump \[TIME\] **Sound Off** “Frankly if I knew somebody did it, I’d fire them too.” — Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to TIME Tuesday morning on the Melania Trump speech “Well, it was wrong because—look at what it has—generated.” — Hillary Clinton to Charlie Rose on her private email server **Bits and Bites** [Melania Trump Strikes Rare Note of Compassion at Republican Convention](http://time.com/4412009/republican-convention-melania-trump-compassion/) \[TIME\] [How Angry is the Republican Convention Right Now?](http://time.com/4410941/republican-convention-mood/) \[TIME\] [Meet the Rising Star Who Spoke at the Republican Convention](http://time.com/4411613/republican-convention-tom-cotton-speech/) \[TIME\] [Rep. Steve King Asks What ‘Subgroup’ Contributed More to Civilization Than Whites](http://time.com/4411953/steve-king-subgroup-whites/) \[TIME\] [The Most Political Foods in America](http://time.com/4410194/democratic-republican-bipartisan-political-foods-america/) \[TIME\] [Do You Eat Like a Republican or a Democrat?](http://time.com/4400706/republican-democrat-foods/) \[TIME\] [Donald Trump’s Campaign Still Holding Grudges as Convention Starts](http://time.com/4410568/republican-convention-donald-trump-paul-manafort-john-kasich-jeb-bush/) \[TIME\] [RNC Chairman Says He’d Consider Firing Melania Trump’s Speechwriter](http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-07-19/priebus-says-melania-trump-not-to-blame-for-speech-s-obama-parallels) \[Bloomberg\] [Pence vs. Clinton on the Iraq War Vote ‘Mistake’](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/07/19/pence-versus-clinton-on-the-iraq-war-vote-mistake/) \[Washington Post\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4412373/why-the-plagiarism-problem-matters/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4412373/why-the-plagiarism-problem-matters/"},"headline":"Why the Plagiarism Problem Matters","datePublished":"2016-07-19T14:55:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:21:11.819Z","description":"Morning Must Reads: July 19","url":"https://time.com/4412373/why-the-plagiarism-problem-matters/","keywords":["Morning Must Reads"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7599d5f9b2ee9336/69889c815f570f5616b21c2b/donald-trump-plagarism-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7599d5f9b2ee9336/69889c815f570f5616b21c2b/donald-trump-plagarism-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Republican National Convention: Day One","caption":"Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump walks on stage to introduce his wife Melania on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on July 18, 2016.","creditText":"Joe Raedle—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4412373/why-the-plagiarism-problem-matters/","name":"Why the Plagiarism Problem Matters"}}]}] ```