After spending more than 36 hours directly dismissing charges of plagiarism, the campaign pivoted to acknowledge that passages had been taken from Michelle Obama's 2008 speech to the Democratic National Convention, in what was framed as an innocent mistake.
Meredith McIver, a family friend and writer for the Trump organization, identified herself in a statement as the person responsible for lifting phrases for Melania's Trump convention speech. She apologized and said she had offered her resignation -- but added that Donald and Melania Trump did not accept it.
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McIver explained that during a phone conversation, Melania Trump read passages from Michelle Obama's speech as examples of the kind of tone she wanted to strike because she admired the first lady.
"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."
McIver said Donald Trump told her that "people make innocent mistakes and that we learn and grow from these experiences."
"She made a mistake ... we all make mistakes," Donald Trump told ABC News later Wednesday.
Defensive crouch
Until McIver released her statement, the Trump campaign had once again found itself off message and in a defensive crouch. The long delay by the campaign to offer an explanation of what happened essentially wasted 36 hours of Trump's convention -- a rare moment in a bruising campaign to present Trump in the best light. The messages of speeches on Monday and Tuesday were overshadowed by questions surrounding the incident.
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