Here We Go Again: Language In Trump Jr.'s RNC Speech Lifted From Article

[RandySF]

Donald Trump Jr. appears to have followed in his stepmother Melania Trump's footsteps and gave a prime-time Republican National Convention speech that lifted some language from a magazine article.

The Daily Show pointed out that a few lines from Trump Jr.'s speech on night two of the convention closely matched a passage from a piece written by F. H. Buckley and published in The American Conservative in May.

Read Trump Jr.'s remarks below:

Our schools used to be an elevator to the middle class. Now they're stalled on the ground floor. They're like Soviet-era department stores that are run for the benefit of the clerks and not the customers, for the teachers and administrators and not the students.

And here is the paragraph from the original American Conservative piece:

What should be an elevator to the upper class is stalled on the ground floor. Part of the fault for this may be laid at the feet of the system’s entrenched interests: the teachers’ unions and the higher-education professoriate. Our schools and universities are like the old Soviet department stores whose mission was to serve the interests of the sales clerks and not the customers.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/donald-trump-jr-rnc-speech-lifted-language-too

[MohRokTah]

1. Beat me by ten seconds.

Deleted mine. Kocked and recced.

[BlueStater]

2. "Stepmother". LOL.

I mean, I know that's technically correct but she's seven years older than him.

[glennward]

3. Well, that's ok. He didn't steal from a live speech.

[George II]

25. And at least he stole from a conservative source, not a liberal Democrat

[Moostache]

4. His step-mom has better taste in plagiarism targets. (n/t)

[Hekate]

5. Arrogance and entitlement run through that family as if they were royalty from a bygone era....

Possibly the one that ended with tumbrils.

[Doodley]

11. Beautifully said.

[PatSeg]

6. Well that explains

why that was the one part of his speech that jumped out at me. It is like they are trying to fuck up this whole convention.

[sarae]

7. wow...

does anyone on the Trump campaign realize that everyone and their brother can use Google and find things within seconds? WTF

[chillfactor]

8. hope there is plagiarism flack....

about this tomorrow...whomever is helping writing these speeches has no idea what plagiarism is.

[Doodley]

9. Ironic, he complains about public schools, but he has to steal other people's ideas and phrases.

His expensive education FAILED. Spoiled brat who knows nothing about the real world.

[glennward]

10. Theft or plagarism must be a family value for the Trumps. nt

[AgadorSparticus]

12. Who the hell wow their damn speeches? Good god.....nt

[John Poet]

13. BRAVO, JR.! I KNEW they wouldn't let us down tonight!

Plagiarism is a Trump family value.

(I plagiarized this from another response!)

[Laurian]

14. There's not an original thought in the whole damn family.

Scary!

[nsd]

15. F.H. Buckley says he was a speechwriter for this speech.

From Politico:

As Twitter exploded with surprise, Buckley tweeted in response, "Except it wasn't stealing..."

"I was a speechwriter for this speech. So I'm afraid there's no issue here," Buckley told Business Insider, according to a tweet from the outlet's executive editor.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/rnc-2016-donald-trump-jr-speech-buckley-225860?lo=ap_e1


I don't think this qualifies as stealing, inasmuch as you can't steal from yourself.

[L. Coyote]

20. That should be added to the OP.

[Blue_Roses]

22. good grief...

don't these people get it. Can't they come up with an original thought even if Buckley did write the speech? My gosh the stupid runs deep in the Trump boys.

[SummerSnow]

16. Well damn , again?

No scruples whatsoever.

[NYC Liberal]

17. Hey, he did lower the expectations though!

Changed "an elevator to the upper class" to "an elevator to the middle class".

[tblue37]

29. The speech writer, who also wrote the original article, used upperclass to

appeal to the National Review audience, middle-class to appeal to the yahoo GOP base and convention delegates.

[scot2313]

18. plagiarism and photos of Donald Jr. with elephant,cougar, other animals he killed.

Donald Jr probably steals like his father, plagiarism is stealing other's words. Killing animals for fun is another form of theft. Photos of him holding a bloody knife and the tail of the elephant he killed. Photos with him smiling holding the dead cheetah. and posing with large beautiful animals he killed should be posted and spread to show what kind of man he(and his brother) are. Hope others post and spread these pictures to counter the good press he got tonight. Just google Donald Jr with trophy animals for photos.

[VOX]

19. Jesus, they don't even effing TRY...

Shameless. Just shameless.

[ffr]

26. Ctrl-C Ctrl-V

The easiest way to say something profound, wouldn't you agree?

[SunSeeker]

21. He makes my skin crawl.

[lovemydog]

23. haha!

Yet another Trump taking credit for something done by someone else.

Privilege at it's worst.

[polynomial]

24. Junior, was dynamic with gusto

Started viewing free air ABC at the middle speech of John Trump Junior, was dynamic with gusto, or what David Muir anchor host said as very powerful and compelling.

Seems the whole of this ABC news crew along with George Stephanopoulos, and the traditional Republican fan Cooke Roberts, with others needed to always over ride whatever the speakers say because of the lost substance.

It appears John Trump Jr. works closely with his father in business can give the impression Trump Jr. is a product of a succession of bankruptcies which may not be business mistakes but business profits learned for a particular manipulation in a self-serving Congressionally embedded dark cornered legal legislation in business and industry.

That’s scary…this convention really introduced everyone to reason further fear about Trump Jr. and Trumps wife. Can’t wait for the one on one interviews with Trumps wife or Jr.

Trump Jr. is skilled in the noble art of insults without substance, a Jack in the cards of super serviceable financial rogues.

Trump as a American security risk is monumental in a false faith according to Arthur Clark about the same time on public TV in an interview saying because of Trump speeches condemning Islam Trump would be the perfect candidate for ISIS conscription in an expanded war.

My view its worst then logic, it is most likely to happen, Trump and the Bush bots want an everlasting profiteering war, grief, loveable torture and a swastikle calculus that controls American behavior. They are mental fascistacle freaks.

As soon as they mentioned Newt Gingrich as a speaker, my thoughts pictured Gingrich as barren dead tree in the middle of dark forest as in R J Tokens Middle Earth surrounded by trolls, beasts and freakozoids that just want to tap the system, and love to hate.

There is no other way to describe Gingrich that is to use insults for the repulsive fascist mental blowhard that he is.

[Blue Idaho]

27. Daddy would be so proud.

Stealing someone else's work to get to into the spotlight. The kind of dick headed move his father has perfected.

[tblue37]

28. The author of the article wrtwrtote that speech for Junior, so it is

recycling, not theft.

[Moonwalk]

31. 'Fair nuff that it's recycling rather than plagiarizing--and OP should edit to say that....

...BUT, really, that writer should have rewritten the speech given what happened last night. No one should be "recycling" anything at this point because they should know each speech is going to be gone over with a fine tooth comb. And if it's a copy of anything "Plagiarism!" is going to be the first word across the Internet.

As for recycling that particular metaphor: it's like the speech writer is presenting his resume rather than trying to write something fitting for Trump, Jr. He's so darn proud of that metaphor! He wants everyone to hear it. But, even if we could believe Trump jr. was concerned with the middle class and public schools, a good speech writer would know that no millennial would use a metaphor about Soviet Russia to make this anti-union point.

As proud and pleased of that metaphor as this writer is, it's totally wrong for Trump Jr. Then again, I suppose they have to play to their audience...all over 50 and reminiscing about the heyday of Reagan if they're applauding that metaphor. I hope to heck the Democrats are taking notes and go young, young, young and fresh. Because RNC speeches are coming across like dioramas at a museum.

Oh, and FYI...I give permission to anyone who wants to copy what I just said. Plagiarize away!

[The Wielding Truth]

34. They should give credit to the person who is known for saying it. If not, it is plagiarism.

[LuckyLib]

32. It's lifted -- no doubt about it.

[King_Klonopin]

33. Plagiarism is a symptom of being intellectually lazy and dishonest.

And we all know how republicans feel about the intellectual elite ...