The Staffer Who Helped Melania Trump Write Her Speech Just Apologized

Update: An aide who helped Melania Trump write her convention speech has taken the blame for passages that mirrored remarks given by Michelle Obama in 2008. Meredith McIver, an "in-house staff writer at the Trump Organization," said she offered to resign over the controversy, but that Donald Trump would not accept it. In the statement, McIver says a note-taking error on her part during a conversation with the potential future first lady led to the inclusion of the similar language. “I apologize for the confusion and hysteria my mistake has caused," she said. Trump, meanwhile, took to Twitter to highlight what he sees as a silver lining of the situation.

Read McIver's full statement on the speech below.

Update: July 19: 2016, 11:19 a.m.: Twitter is having a field day with Melania Trump's primetime convention speech controversy. Scores of social media users are mercilessly poking fun at the striking similarities between a part of Trump's remarks and a speech given by Michelle Obama eight years ago, using the hashtag #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes.

Trump campaign aide Paul Manafort shot back at plagiarism allegations on Tuesday, saying "to think that she'd be cribbing Michelle Obama's words is crazy." "To think that she would do something like that knowing how scrutinized her speech was going to be last night is just really absurd," he told CNN.

This story was originally published at 2 a.m. on July 19, 2106. Melania Trump's highly anticipated debut on the Republican National Convention stage has landed her in hot water. The prospective first lady sought to introduce herself and boost husband, presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, during her short speech to delegates — and viewers across the country — Monday night. But a section of her speech in which she praises her own parents is now under scrutiny for its similarities to first lady Michelle Obama's 2008 convention speech. Here's a comparison of the paragraphs in question, with similarities highlighted in bold: Melania Trump's remarks:

"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 the daily life. That is the lesson that I continue to pass along to our son.

"And we need to pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow. 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"

And CNN's transcript of Michelle Obama in 2008:

"And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and 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.

And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and to pass them on to 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 for them."

The potentially plagiarized passages began circulating on Twitter soon after Trump's primetime speech at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena wrapped up.

As The Hill notes, candidates — and their families — often rely on professional speechwriters for help crafting major remarks for conventions. But Melania Trump told NBC's Matt Lauer that she wrote it "with as little help as possible." The Trump campaign issued the following statement on the speech early Tuesday morning. "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," Senior Communications Advisor Jason Miller said in a statement. "Melania’s immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it such a success.”