--- title: Donald Trump Jr. Calls Plagiarism Allegations "Ridiculous" description: "And I worked with Frank Buckley on it, it's as simple as that." canonical: https://time.com/4414344/donald-trump-jr-calls-plagiarism-allegations-ridiculous/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-20T05:29:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-06T09:42:26.261Z article:section: Politics og:title: Donald Trump Jr. Calls Plagiarism Allegations 'Ridiculous' og:description: He says he worked with a professional speechwriter. og:url: https://time.com/4414344/donald-trump-jr-calls-plagiarism-allegations-ridiculous/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e6659cdfb752eaa/69889caea988ca6bbb6b8afe/gettyimages-577716288.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4092 og:image:height: 2302 og:image:alt: Republican National Convention: Day Two og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Jr. Calls Plagiarism Allegations 'Ridiculous' twitter:description: He says he worked with a professional speechwriter. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e6659cdfb752eaa/69889caea988ca6bbb6b8afe/gettyimages-577716288.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:42 video:published: 2016-07-20 section: politics topics: Republican convention, presidential campaign, education reform, school choice, business leadership, national unity, political endorsement, America great again genre: speech, political commentary tones: supportive, emotional, confident, critical emotions: pride (high), hope (medium), frustration (medium), determination (high) sentiment: positive audience: Republican voters, convention attendees, political news audiences, parents concerned about education people: Donald Trump Jr., Donald Trump organizations: Republican Party content_suitability: politics [00:00-02:42] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Donald Trump Jr. Calls Plagiarism Allegations 'Ridiculous' > 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=3006b948-cc02-460e-a60e-3415bfd21fdf&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Meet the Trump Son Speaking at the Convention Tuesday [Watch (HLS stream): Meet the Trump Son Speaking at the Convention Tuesday](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kSqkeKZu.m3u8) (2:42)  _Published 2016-07-20. Donald Trump Jr.’s speech at the Republican convention Tuesday night won’t be the first time he’s stumped for his father._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Donald Trump Jr. speaks at the Republican convention, arguing that the country has ignored its problems and lost faith in its leaders and institutions. He presents his father as a leader who accomplishes what others call impossible, drawing on his experience working alongside construction workers in the family business. He criticizes the state of public schools and proposes letting parents choose where to send their children. He closes by endorsing his father as the nominee and saying electing him will make America great again. ## Key points - The speaker says the country has punted its problems down the road for future generations to deal with. (00:00) - He says Americans have lost confidence in leaders and faith in institutions, but insists the country is still one nation. (00:19) - He says his father accomplishes things when people say they are impossible, and that this triggers him into action. (00:41) - He notes his father stood on the stage 11 months earlier with 16 professional politicians and is now the party's nominee. (00:51) - He says his father spent his career with regular Americans on job sites and in conference rooms, not hidden behind a desk. (01:18) - He says the family learned from people with doctorates in common sense rather than from MBAs. (01:39) - He criticizes schools as stalled on the ground floor and says they are run for teachers and administrators rather than students. (01:46) - He says other countries do better on K through 12 because they let parents choose where to send their children to school. (01:59) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:41] Country's problems and need for leadership. The speaker argues the country has ignored its problems and lost faith in its institutions, and says his father can get things done. - [00:41 to 01:39] Father's business record and work ethic. The speaker describes his father's track record of accomplishing the impossible and how he ran his businesses alongside regular workers. - [01:39 to 02:42] Education reform and closing endorsement. The speaker criticizes public schools, proposes parental school choice, and closes by endorsing his father for president. ## Key quotes - [00:41] Donald Trump Jr.: "I know that when someone tells him that something is impossible, that's what triggers him into action." - [01:39] Donald Trump Jr.: "We didn't learn from MBAs. We learned from people who are doctorates in common sense." - [01:59] Donald Trump Jr.: "You know why other countries do better on K through 12? They let parents choose where to send their own children to school." - [02:23] Donald Trump Jr.: "Donald Trump." - [02:27] Donald Trump Jr.: "We'll have made America great again." ## Questions this video answers - Why does the speaker believe the country will recover its confidence and unity? [00:25] - What does the speaker say makes his father take action? [00:41] - How does the speaker say his father ran his businesses? [01:11] - What reform does the speaker propose for schools? [01:59] - Who does the speaker endorse for president and what does he say will result? [02:17] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-02:42]: Partisan political convention speech endorsing a presidential candidate and criticizing current institutions.  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Jul 20, 2016 5:29 AM UTC Donald Trump Jr.’s speech at the Republican convention Tuesday night won’t be the first time he’s stumped for his father.  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Jul 20, 2016 5:29 AM UTC Donald Trump Jr. slammed critics who accused him of plagiarizing his GOP convention speech Tuesday night, calling the accusations “ridiculous.” “Of course I work with a professional speechwriter who does these things on some things,” Trump told TIME as he left the Westin Hotel bar Tuesday night. “And I’m new to politics, I’ve never done that. I’m going to go with someone who knows what they’re doing. And I worked with Frank Buckley on it, it’s as simple as that.” Buckley, a law professor at George Mason University,[ confirmed](http://time.com/4414279/donald-trump-jr-speechwriter-says-there-was-no-plagiarism/?xid=homepage) that he had indeed written the speech. _The Daily Show_ first pointed out the similarities between Trump Jr.’s speech and a May article in the American Conservative entitled “[Trump vs. the New Class](http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/trump-vs-the-new-class/).” Because he had written both the article and the speech, Buckley said, “it’s not an issue.” Trump Jr. agrees. “A lot of it’s my own words because I’m talking about my father and my family,” he added. The allegations come just a day after it was revealed that large portions of Melania Trump’s speech [appear to have been lifted or adapted](http://time.com/4412175/republican-convention-melania-trump-michelle-obama/) from Michelle Obama’s 2008 convention speech. But Trump Jr. says there’s nothing to see here. “People are trying to find a story where it doesn’t exist,” he said. “They have an agenda, they’ve made up their mind, it’s as simple as that.” ## Transcript [00:00] For too long, our country has ignored its problems, [00:03] punting them down the road for future generations to [00:05] deal with. We've actually started to believe that solving [00:09] our great problems is an impossible task. That's [00:13] why we need to elect a man who has a track record of [00:16] accomplishing the impossible. We've lost the [00:19] confidence in our leaders and the faith in our [00:22] institutions, but remember one thing. We're still [00:25] Americans. We're still one country, and we're going to [00:29] get it all back. I know we're going to get it back, [00:32] because I know my father. I know when people tell him [00:36] it can't be done, that guarantees That he gets it done. [00:39] [ APPLAUSE ] [00:41] I know that when someone tells him that something is [00:44] impossible, that's what triggers him into action. The [00:47] person who would never run for office before, stood on [00:51] the stage 11 months ago in this very arena with 16 [00:55] professional politicians And this week, that same man, [00:59] will stand before you as our parties nominee for the [01:02] president of the United States of America. [ APPLAUSE ] [01:08] You wanna know what kind of president he'll be? Let [01:11] me tell you how he ran his businesses, and I know, [01:14] because I was there with him, by his side. On job sites, [01:18] In conference rooms from the time I could walk. He [01:22] didn't hide out behind some desk in an executive [01:24] suite. He spent his career with regular Americans. He [01:28] hung out with the guys on construction sites, pouring [01:32] sheetrock and hanging, pouring concrete and hanging [01:35] sheetrock. We didn't learn from MBAs. We learned [01:39] from people who are doctorates in common sense. [01:41] [ APPLAUSE ] [01:46] Our schools used to be an elevator to the middle class. [01:49] Now they're stalled on the ground floor. They're like [01:52] Soviet aero department stores that are run for the [01:54] benefit of the clerks and not the customers, for the [01:56] teachers and the administrators and not the students. [01:59] You know why other countries do better on K through [02:01] 12? They let parents choose where to send their own [02:05] children to school. Who will give the hardworking men [02:08] and women who built this great country a voice once [02:10] again. That president can only be [02:17] my mentor, My best friend, my father, [02:23] Donald Trump. [ APPLAUSE ] [02:27] And when we elect him, we'll have done all that. We'll [02:31] have made America great again. Greater than ever [02:35] before. [ APPLAUSE ] Thank [02:40] you and God bless. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4414344/donald-trump-jr-calls-plagiarism-allegations-ridiculous/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4414344/donald-trump-jr-calls-plagiarism-allegations-ridiculous/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Jr. Calls Plagiarism Allegations 'Ridiculous'","datePublished":"2016-07-20T05:29:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-06T09:42:26.261Z","description":"'Of course I work with a professional speechwriter'","url":"https://time.com/4414344/donald-trump-jr-calls-plagiarism-allegations-ridiculous/","keywords":["Republican National Convention","Daily Show","Melania Trump","Donald Trump Jr."],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e6659cdfb752eaa/69889caea988ca6bbb6b8afe/gettyimages-577716288.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e6659cdfb752eaa/69889caea988ca6bbb6b8afe/gettyimages-577716288.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Republican National Convention: Day Two","caption":"Republican National Convention: Day Two","creditText":"John Moore—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":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/republican-national-convention/","name":"Republican National Convention"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4414344/donald-trump-jr-calls-plagiarism-allegations-ridiculous/","name":"Donald Trump Jr. Calls Plagiarism Allegations 'Ridiculous'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Meet the Trump Son Speaking at the Convention Tuesday","description":"Donald Trump Jr.’s speech at the Republican convention Tuesday night won’t be the first time he’s stumped for his father.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/kSqkeKZu/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-07-20T03:12:43.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kSqkeKZu.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4414344/donald-trump-jr-calls-plagiarism-allegations-ridiculous/","duration":"PT2M42S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4414344/donald-trump-jr-calls-plagiarism-allegations-ridiculous/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```