‘This is not the America I know’: Trump’s son accuses Obama of plagiarism

“Trump Jr. is correct that both he and Obama both used the single phrase in their speeches.

Washington

: Donald Trump’s son has claimed that US President Barack Obama in his speech at the Democratic convention ‘plagiarised’ a line, days after the business tycoon’s wife Melania Trump was mocked for lifting portions from Michelle Obama’s 2008 speech.

Trump Jr. suggested that Obama’s speech in Philadelphia on Wednesday night lifted a line from his Republican National Convention remarks, pointing out that both addresses contained the line “That’s not the America I know.”

“I’m honoured that Potus would plagiarise a line from my speech last week. Where’s the outrage ” Trump Jr. tweeted.

The charge comes after Melania Trump was criticised for lifting significant portions of her address to the convention from Michelle’s first convention speech in 2008.

“Trump Jr. is correct that both he and Obama both used the single phrase in their speeches, but it is also a line Obama -- along with past US presidents -- has used frequently in the past,” NBC News reported.

“And other than the brief sentiment about the version of America known to both men, the context of the statements was very different,” the report said.

“There’s so much work to do. We will not accept the current state of our country because it’s too hard to change. That’s not the America I know. We’re going to unleash the creative spirit and energy of all Americans,” Trump Jr had said in his convention speech.

Obama, addressing the Democratic convention this week, had said, “What we heard in Cleveland last week wasn’t particularly Republican and it sure wasn’t conservative. What we heard was a deeply pessimistic vision of a country where we turn against each other and turn away from the rest of the world.

“There were no serious solutions to pressing problems, just the fanning of resentment and blame and anger and hate. And that is not the America I know. The America I know is full of courage, and optimism, and ingenuity. The America I know is decent and generous,” Obama said.

Obama has frequently used the construction of “the America I know” and “not the America I know” in public addresses.

The use of the “America I know” refrain was also a common phrase for former president George W Bush.

Melania had found herself in the midst of a plagiarism controversy earlier this month after a prime-time defence of her husband Donald appeared to be lifted in part from a speech given by Michelle Obama at the 2008 Democratic convention.

Trump had termed as an “innocent mistake” the plagiarism surrounding his wife’s speech and rejected the speech writer’s resignation.