- WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE
When Melania Trump took to the stage on Monday night, the stakes were high.
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Did Melania Trump plagiarise RNC speech?
The would-be first lady has been accused of copying sections of her speech at the Republican Convention from Michelle Obama.
As the wife of Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president of the United States, she was set to speak in support of him.
It was hoped she could help "unite the Republican party". She also hoped to revive her personal image, with a Gallup poll showing she is the least-liked potential first lady since 1992.
Instead, journalist Jarrett Hill discovered her speech at the Republican National Convention in the city of Cleveland strayed remarkably close to one made by Michelle Obama in 2008.
The revelation spurred derision on social media and a Twitter hashtag that trended number one around the world for several hours.
Outspoken celebrities including actors Jesse Williams and Anna Kendrick contributed to the #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes hashtag, which attributed quotes from speeches, songs and films to Mrs Trump in a tongue-in-cheek reaction to the plagiarism scandal.
"I have had it with these mothahfuckin' snakes on this mothahfuckin' plane" #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes
— Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47) July 19, 2016
![Melania Trump, wife of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, waves after she makes her now-infamous speech.](/web/20160721193001im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/9/7/0/u/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gq92sz.png/1469053656396.jpg)
"I, am Malcolm X.” #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes
— jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 19, 2016
"They may take our lives, but they may never take OUR FREEDOM!!"#FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes
— Linsey Godfrey (@linseygodfrey) July 19, 2016
![Donald Trump introduces his wife Melania at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.](/web/20160721193001im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/8/y/4/1/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gq92sz.png/1468973718566.jpg)
"I did not have sexual relations with that woman."
— Kodi Gaddis (@KodiGaddis) July 19, 2016
#FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes
THAT'S NOT A KNIFE..#FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes pic.twitter.com/HkrcoRUmks
— Joel Werner (@joelwerner) July 19, 2016
"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes
— Jane Caro (@JaneCaro) July 19, 2016
"It was hard growing up as a black woman on the south side of Chicago" #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes #RNCConvention pic.twitter.com/lfv1jtCO5j
— Leslie Wimes (@WomenOnTheMove1) July 19, 2016
The trend began at midnight local time in Cleveland, hitting an estimated 2100 tweets per minute at its height and remaining the top worldwide Twitter trend more than four hours later.
According to Gallup, the image ratings of potential first ladies improves after their opening speech, when people "grew more familiar with them and more warm in their ratings toward them".
It remains to be seen if this will be the case with Mrs Trump, given she hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons – and has seemingly refused to acknowledge her speech was anything other than "a success".
"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," said a statement posted to her Twitter account.
"Melania's immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it such a success."
Fairfax Media