--- title: Republican Convention: Melania Trump Rick Rolled In Speech description: Was Melania Trump's alleged plagiarism of Michelle Obama's 2008 speech just an elaborate ruse to prevent us from noticing her Rickroll? canonical: https://time.com/4412801/melania-trump-rick-rolled-speech/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-19T16:10:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-06T09:42:12.534Z og:title: Melania Trump Just Rickrolled Us All og:description: Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down og:url: https://time.com/4412801/melania-trump-rick-rolled-speech/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d87ad1044629083/69889c7c524fc035a4df8c60/melania-trump-rickroll.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: US-VOTE-REPUBLICANS-CONVENTION og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Melania Trump Just Rickrolled Us All twitter:description: Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d87ad1044629083/69889c7c524fc035a4df8c60/melania-trump-rickroll.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Melania Trump's Alleged Plagiarism Was Just a Front to Distract Us From Her Rickroll > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=2644f65d-5193-4817-873a-6ce5332d4a55&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Melania Trump Echoes Michelle Obama's 2008 Convention Speech [Watch (HLS stream): Melania Trump Echoes Michelle Obama's 2008 Convention Speech](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/a9mrHqjy.m3u8) (1:37)  _Published 2016-07-19. Shortly after the speech, observers on Twitter noticed that a passage Trump read about her upbringing borrowed heavily from the structure and phrasing used by Michelle Obama in her 2008 convention speech._  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jul 19, 2016 4:10 PM UTC Shortly after the speech, observers on Twitter noticed that a passage Trump read about her upbringing borrowed heavily from the structure and phrasing used by Michelle Obama in her 2008 convention speech.  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jul 19, 2016 4:10 PM UTC Let’s all slow clap for [Melania Trump](http://time.com/4412372/melania-trump-speech-criticism-michelle-obama/), who’s much more cunning than what meets the eye. While politicos were up in arms over her Monday night speech at the RNC [because of its uncanny similarities to Michelle Obama’s 2008 convention speech](http://time.com/4412175/republican-convention-melania-trump-michelle-obama/), the alleged plagiarism was really just a ploy to prevent us from realizing that the wife of the Donald was Rickrolling all of us. The Rickroll, one of the Internet’s oldest and most beloved traditions, consists of pranking someone by bait-and-switch linking out to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” music video, which probably makes Melania [the most meme-savvy and interesting person at the convention](http://time.com/4411994/rnc-livestream-republican-national-convention-watch-live/). Her speech was filled with hope, inspiration, and the very important Astley lyrics, “He will never, ever give you up. And, most importantly, he will never, ever let you down.” Watch Melania Rickroll the RNC below. ## Transcript Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values, like you work hard for what you want in life. [ APPLAUSE ] From a young age, my parents impressed on me the values that you work hard for what you want in life. That your word is your bond. That you do what you say you're going to do. That your word is your bond. And you do what you say. And keep your promise. That you treat people with dignity and respect. Even if you don't know them. And even if you don't agree with them. That you treat people with respect. They thought and showed me values and morals in their daily life. [ APPLAUSE ] And Barak and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because- That is the lesson that I continue to pass along to ou sons And we need to pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow. Generation because we want our children and all children in this nation to know that the only limits of the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them. Because we want our children in this nation to know that the only limit to your achievements is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them. 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