Melania Trump’s speechwriter comes forward to apologize

An in-house writer with the Trump campaign has stepped forward with an apology for her involvement in the preparation of Melania Trump’s speech to the Republican National Convention Monday night, which bore striking similarities to a Michelle Obama speech.

The staffer, who identified herself in a statement as Meredith McIver, said she submitted her resignation Tuesday but the Trump family rejected it.

“In working with Melania Trump on her recent First Lady speech, we discussed many people who inspired her and messages she wanted to share with the American people. A person she has always liked is Michelle Obama,” the statement read. “Over the phone, she read me some passages from Mrs. Obama’s speech as examples. I wrote them down and later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech. I did not check Mrs. Obama’s speeches.”

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