Watch: Melania Trump's convention address was REALLY similar to a Michelle Obama speech from 2008
Donald Trump’s wife has been accused of plagiarising a 2008 speech made by Michelle Obama when she spoke to the US Republican National Convention last night.
The tycoon was introducing his wife Melania, who made her highest-profile appearance of the presidential campaign so far as she assured voters that her husband will unite a divided nation.
Delegates in Cleveland, Ohio were gushing about the speech, with John Salm, from Virginia, saying: "I think she's going to be a great asset. She's just magnificent. Honestly she reminds me of Jackie Kennedy."
"I think everybody fell in love with her tonight," said Deedee Kelly, from Omaha, Nebraska. "She seemed to talk from her heart, she really did."
In Mrs Trump's speech, she said: "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 and you do what you say and keep your promise, that you treat people with respect. They taught and showed me values and morals in their daily life."
In Mrs Obama's 2008 speech in Denver, Colorado, she said: "And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: like, 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 you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them and even if you don't agree with them."
Another passage with notable similarities that followed two sentences later in Mrs Trump's speech addressed her attempts to instil those values in her son.
"We need to pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow," Mrs Trump said. "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."
In the First Lady's 2008 speech, she said: "Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values and to pass them onto the next generation, because we want our children - and all children in this nation - to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them."
"I'd like to thank two of my speech writers, Copy and Paste, for their help in preparing my remarks" #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes
— Jim Stilwell (@JimmyHack) July 19, 2016
"I'm so proud of my husband Barack." #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes
— Edgar G (@bleustreak) July 19, 2016
The Trump campaign today responded in a statement that said her "immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech", and did not mention Mrs Obama.
"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," Trump spokesman Jason Miller said.
White House officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In an interview with NBC News taped ahead of her convention appearance and posted online early Tuesday, Mrs Trump said of her speech: "I wrote it", adding that she had "a little help".
Her star turn on the opening night of the convention captivated a Republican crowd that had rarely heard from her during her husband's bruising White House campaign.
Mr Trump emerged from the shadows to declare to cheers: "We're going to win, we're going to win so big."
He introduced "my wife, an amazing mother, an incredible woman" and returned to the stage after her speech to kiss her and lead the cheers of the crowd.
The Slovenian-born former model, 24 years his junior, presented a softer and gentler Donald Trump during her 10-minute speech.
The 46-year-old did not dwell on her humble upbringing in an industrial town in what was then a part of communist Yugoslavia, but she spoke of her family, her sister Ines, her "elegant and hardworking mother Amalia," and her father Viktor, who "instilled in me a passion for business and travel".
It was truly an honor to introduce my wife, Melania. Her speech and demeanor were absolutely incredible. Very proud! #GOPConvention
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2016
Donald Trump has previously praised speeches by Michelle Obama.
Very good speech by @MichelleObama--and under great pressure--Dems should be proud!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2012
The speech came after Republican divisions had erupted on the convention floor earlier after party officials adopted rules by a shouted voice vote as anti-Trump forces seeking to derail his nomination responded with loud and angry chants.
Outside the building, hundreds of Trump supporters and opponents held rival rallies half-a-mile apart, with Cleveland Police reporting there had been no violence, or damage to property.
Mrs Trump's appearance was a sharp contrast to most of the night's other speakers, who painted a bleak picture of an American future that they said only her husband can correct.
A parade of speakers told emotional stories about loved ones killed while serving in the military or at the hands of people in the United States illegally.
They cast the difficult times as a direct result of weak leadership by President Barack Obama and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who spent four years in the administration.
"Who would trust Hillary Clinton to protect them? I wouldn't," former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said in one of the night's most fiery addresses.
Rudy Giuliani says he is 'sick and tired' of the defamation of @realDonaldTrump #RNCinCLE https://t.co/xBvbS7Iejs
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) July 19, 2016
Many of the party's past and future stars were missing from the event, underscoring the concerns Republican leaders have with closely aligning themselves with Mr Trump.
That left him with an eclectic array of supporters, including Happy Days actor Scott Baio and Willie Robertson, star of the reality TV series Duck Dynasty, who took the stage with an American flag bandanna wrapped around his head.
