Melania Trump headlines day one of the Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention was expected to have many storylines throughout the week with the ever-polarizing Donald Trump as the main attraction. However, many may not have guessed that the most controversial thing coming out of Cleveland, Ohio could involve the potential future First Lady of the United States.
Melania Trump was pegged as the headliner for the opening night of the 2016 RNC with much anticipation, as the Slovenian-born former model has not been a major player thus far throughout her husbands campaign. What was supposed to be a “coming out party” for Melania, quickly turned into controversy as plagiarism concerns with her speech have now marred what was supposed to be her shining moment.
Parts of Trump’s speech have been analyzed and compared to current First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2008 speech during the Democratic National Convention. There has been instant backlash over the discrepancies, as we wait for an explanation from the Trump camp.
Senior Communications Advisor for Donald Trump, Jason Miller had this to say on Trump’s website following Melania’s speech:
“In writing her beautiful speech, Melania’s team of writers took notes on her life’s inspirations, and in some instances included fragments that reflected her own thinking. Melania’s immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it such a success.”
The theme for Monday at the RNC was “Make America Safe Again.” That message was prevalent throughout the night as politicians, military and others spoke of the current state of our country and the slippery slope it could be headed at this rate.
There was a focus on issues such as Benghazi, immigration, and law enforcement. The evening session saw many speakers sound off on presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, including Pat Smith, mother of Sean Smith, who died in the Benghazi attack.
In probably the most spirited address of the night, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani spoke emphatically on topics of police brutality, as well as Clinton’s role in Benghazi and its aftermath.
Earlier in the day, there was a fight to have the convention’s rules voted on by a roll call vote. Such a move could have given anti-Trump forces greater ability to voice their dissent. As explained by Politico, party leadership blocked a roll call vote on the convention rules, which virtually guarantee Trump the party nomination by requiring delegates to vote in accordance with their state’s primary or caucus results.
The plagiarism fiasco will certainly be a major talking point throughout the week, and it will be very interesting to see how the Trump camp reacts. If day one was indicative of what to expect out of Cleveland, we’re in for an interesting week.