TheCable

The Trump campaign organisation says “an innocent mistake” is responsible for the appearance of two passages from a 2008 speech by Michelle Obama in Melania Trump’s address at the party’s national convention.

According to Meredith McIver, Trump’s speech writer, the presidential hopeful is trying to put the incident behind.

McIver revealed that she tendered a resignation over the embarrassment, but that Trump rejected it and said people should be given “opportunity to learn”.

She explained how the whole issue happened in the first place.

“In working with Melania on her recent first lady speech, we discussed many people who inspired her and messages she wanted to share with the American people,” Ms. McIver said in a statement posted on the Trump campaign’s website.

“A person she has always liked is Michelle Obama.

“Over the phone, she reads 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. This was my mistake and I feel terrible for the chaos I have caused Melania and the Trumps as well as to Mrs. Obama. No harm was meant.

“I offered my resignation to Mr. Trump and the Trump family but they rejected it and that Mr. Trump told me that people make innocent mistakes and we learn and grow from these experiences.”

The employee, who has worked on some of Trump’s books, was brought in after the Republican candidate discarded the majority of a draft written by two professional speechwriters.