RNC 2016: Melania Trump 'plagiarised' part of Michelle Obama's 2008 speech

Melania Trump took the stage and made the case for why her husband, New York business tycoon Donald Trump, should be the next president of the United States.

"With all of my heart, I know that he will make a great and lasting difference," the former model from Slovenia said as day one of the GOP Convention entered its ninth hour.

"He will never give up, and he will never, never let you down."

But a portion of Ms Trump's speech appears to have been lifted from words First Lady Michelle Obama delivered at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

“From a young age, my parents impressed on my the values that you work hard for what you want in life,” Ms Trump, 46, said in her Monday night appearance, “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 their daily life.

“That is a message 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.”

The excerpt reads almost matches a portion of Ms Obama’s speech verbatim.

“And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values,” she said. “Like, you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond; that 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 onto 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 hard for them.”

The Trump campaign issued a response early Tuesday morning that did not specifically address why portions of Ms Trump's speech drew from the First Lady's address, and instead said writers took notes on her inspirations.

"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," the statement from senior communications advisor Jason Miller said. "Melania’s immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it such a success."

Buzzfeed reported that the original piece Ms Obama delivered was written by Sarah Hurwitz, who currently works as a special assistant to the President.

Former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau also told Buzzfeed that he had "no idea" how Ms Trump could have taken those lines from the First Lady's speech.

“A stray line or phrase could be a mistake. Two full paragraphs from the current First Lady is just incomprehensible,” Mr Favreau said. “I can’t believe someone would do that to her.”