Nearly a year and a half since becoming First Lady, Melania Trump has finally launched her online cyber bullying/opioid epidemic/WTF-is-going-on-here initiative, and it’s as messy and all over the place as you might expect.
This week, Mrs. Trump announced her 2018 #BeBest campaign, not to be confused with Michelle Obama’s 2016 #BeBetter campaign:
In addition to the video, the #BeBest campaign includes an online booklet, which is literally a direct copy of an Obama administration pamphlet published in 2009 on how to talk to kids about online cyber bullying… with Melania’s name slapped on it, of course!
When confronted with accusations of plagiarism, the First Lady’s office said:
How about we take this to the next level?
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Despite providing countless outlets with ample background, information, and on-the-record comments from the FTC, some media have chosen to take a day meant to promote kindness and positive efforts on behalf of children, to instead lob baseless accusations towards the First Lady and her new initiatives
Except the accusations aren’t “baseless.” It’s literally a direct word-for-word copy:
Fun fact: The White House trumpets “Talking with Kids about Being Online" as "a booklet by First Lady Melania Trump and the Federal Trade Commission." Except for an intro, it's exactly the same thing Obama's FTC put out. pic.twitter.com/AEf6F0gBbt
— The Rude Pundit (@rudepundit) May 7, 2018
Check out how Twitter has responded to the First Lady’s #BeBest initiative…
Thank you, @MichelleObama !!
Your work and legacy carry us forward, against all odds.
— Matthew W. Parsons (@CajPaLa) May 8, 2018
#BeBest at plagiarism. #MoronsAreGoverningAmerica ?
— Rebecca Boston (@boston7905) May 8, 2018
What’s next? Are you going to launch a program to deal with violence in Chicago and how growing up as a black woman in America shaped your outlook? #birthertrash
— JC (@jeffcherun) May 8, 2018
Be a model for children and LEAVE HIM
— Kristina Wong ?? (@mskristinawong) May 8, 2018
You know what would #BeBest? Impeachment. pic.twitter.com/Ny0q6CyloC
— Jamie Grayson (@TheBabyGuyNYC) May 8, 2018
Oh, but it doesn’t stop there…
#BeDressed ?? pic.twitter.com/2lkaQgByYt
— JUMbotron (@Johnny_U_Miller) May 7, 2018
If you're concerned abt kids well-being & trying to combat bullying, opioid use, etc., why use a phrase that initiates competition? Why not "Be YOUR Best" or "Be Better" (as in better yourself everyday). "Be Best" seems to encourage kids to try to beat each other/win @ all costs
— La Résistance ? ????? (@LeoLawGirl) May 7, 2018
It would #BeBest if you would just divorce him.
— Courtney McCain ? (@CourtneyMcCain) May 7, 2018
Sixteen months and all you could do was to republish a booklet from Obama administration word for word? When will any of you be held accountable? #StopLying
— BingBongBingBing (@BingBingBongBi1) May 8, 2018
— Kathy Brown ?? #BoycottNRA? (@KathyBrownKathy) May 8, 2018
Related: Amazing memes perfectly capture that time Obama made Melania Trump smile at a funeral
KaiserVonScheiss
Who cares?
It’s typical First Lady stuff. So what if she plagiarised something that would have been regurgitated anyway?
Something tells me that stuff like this is pretty standard in politics – especially for a ceremonial role like First Lady.
PinkoOfTheGange
While hubby is gift wrapping Mideast influence for his handler Putin, she is plagiarizing the Obamas…again.
It matters.
startenout
I love that you try to disregard it with “who cares?”
First ladies who have actually cared about their platform worked to do something original. Michelle did something original. This is just a waste of time reprint that people like you who bash the Obama’s will hail as being amazing work. Ugh.
I am proud that Michelle did such incredible work and left a great legacy for people to plagiarize…I mean, for other people to stand upon.
Puckersnique
It matters because while she plagirizes from the Obama’s constantly her husband’s only agenda is to dismantle everything President Obama did. Everything they do is disgraceful.
KaiserVonScheiss
@startenout
“people like you.”
Unfortunately, there aren’t more people like me.
And my main criticisms of Obama are much the same I have with Trump. Illegal warfare, staying in Afghanistan, etc.
DCguy
Translation: You have zero proof that this has ever been done before, but since it’s somebody in the Trump Administration, you will make up a story that it is common and then try to say “Who Cares”.
So the same accounts that attacked Michelle Obama for wearing a sleevless dress completely defend Melania for lying about graduating college, stealing Michelle Obama’s speech and plagiarizing this entire program from the Obama Administration.
KaiserVonScheiss
@DCguy
Oh, please… political memos and the like get plagarised and regurgitated all the time.
I never, not once, attacked Michelle Obama on this site. In fact, I don’t recall ever attacking Michelle Obama, certainly not over a dress. Stop lying!
DCguy
KaiserVonScheiss said…..
“Oh, please… political memos and the like get plagarised and regurgitated all the time.”
——————-
Anybody notice that many of the Trump supporting account screenames have now given up on trying to claim that the Trump family didn’t do anything wrong? Now they’ve moved onto “Well, they did it, but so what, EVERYBODY does it!”
Hey Kaiser, You are welcome to point out ANY time that Michelle Obama, Laura Bush etc… EVER Stated that they created something themselves that turned out to be plagiarized.
mhoffman953
@DCguy
I’ll respond to that since Kaiser hasn’t responded.
When people accuse Melania Trump of stealing the line “your word is your bond” from Michelle Obama, it is a common phrase that can be found everywhere.
You wanted examples of plagiarism from past administrations and here are some…
During the Presidential election, candidate Hillary Clinton used exact word-for-word phrases from Bernie Sanders such as “this country belongs to all of us, not just those at the top” and “no bank can be too big to fail, no executive too powerful to jail”. Bernie Sanders joked about this on NBC https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/sanders-voter-turnout-not-high-i-had-wanted-n523031 Hillary has even used phrases from then candidate Carly Fiorina
Barack Obama has lifted lines from John Edwards and Deval Patrick as seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBTa6VHZlVE At the time, many far left websites such as Slate cited that what Obama did was merely “poor footnoting” when using those lines.
Joe Biden, plagiarized 5 whole pages on a college term paper and used exact phrases from Robert Kennedy and Neal Kinnock here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIaALKHVrAA
There are even discussions that Michelle Obama has lifted similar phrasing from Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” when she used phrasing of “the world as it is” and “the world as it should be”. People found similar phrasing from Michelle when she said “The only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams” when a similar line is found in the book “Crossing Antarctica” by Will Steger which reads “The only limit to achievement is the limit you place on your own dreams”
So, do you condemn all of those people with the same outrage you do for Melania Trump for saying commonly used phrases that are said in public speeches or is your contempt only for Melania Trump and everyone else gets a pass?
Kangol
I want to like her, but she’s always sliding into absurdity. “Be Best” seems to be missing a word. Be Your Best? Be Our Best? Be The Best? And why plagiarize yet another thing from the Obamas, especially given how the Trumpkin despites former President Obama so much?
SiamSam
This could be deliberate. The clumsy phrasing still has people talking about this anti-bullying campaign.
mhoffman953
@Kangol
Maybe it would ‘be best’ if you did like her
DCguy
@SiamSam
It’s always cute when you try to read her mind and invent a ridiculous reason for the absurdity.
Kangol
20 women have accused the sociopath Trumpkin of rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and sexually inappropriate comments. He even admitted to sexually assaulting women on tape, and he’s clearly lied about whoring around with porn stars. Plus he bullies women and men all the time. So when is your beloved Trumpkin going to resign? He should do so before he’s impeached or brought up on treason charges.
mhoffman953
@Kangol
With the way things are now, each case should be analyzed when both parties are denying what happened. The burden of proof is always on the accuser because people are innocent until proven guilty, not the other way around.
In Trump’s case, none of those women went to the police, reported anything to a hospital, went to the press, or sought a criminal / civil case against Trump. Those women only leveled accusations 3 weeks before the election. People have known that Trump sleeps with models and attractive women all the time as he’s discussed on the Howard Stern show. Don’t you think at least 1 out of those women would’ve at least said something after it happened or went to the police or a hospital after it happened?
There haven’t even been rumors about Trump over the years like there were for Weinstein or others. None of this talk was had until just before the election and it has since come out that Lisa Bloom helped facilitate payments to the Trump accusers from DNC donors with one DNC donor offering to pay a woman’s mortgage to say she slept with Trump. If someone was going to pay my mortgage, I’d say I slept with Trump too LOL
In the case of Schneiderman, the women have medical records proving the assault. In other cases such as with Weinstein, a woman went to the police and wore a wire to get him on tape during a sexual assault. With Cosby, he admitted in the past to drugging women then having sex with them. With Spacey, there were police reports.
Yet we’ve seen with many of the other alleged incidents in the media that the woman have made up the stories, with one prominent example being “mattress girl” from Rolling Stone magazine which resulted in a witch hunt for a rapist that didn’t exist
Cylest Brooks
There have been rumors about Trump being a rapist since 1989. There are depositions.
PinkoOfTheGange
Look squirrel!
mhoffman953
@CylestBrooks
You say “rumors” plural, but you’re referencing a divorce deposition, not a criminal deposition. His ex-wife Ivana further clarified those statements and said it was not rape
Kangol
Summer Zervos currently has filed a defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump. She is one of many who have accused him of rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and more. His own recorded words: “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it, you can do anything … grab them by the p*ssy. You can do anything.” He should be behind bars, but he’ll have to resign or be impeached first.
mhoffman953
@Kangol
Vox is a poor source but that doesn’t attest to my previous comment that not one of those women went to the police, went to the media, went to the hospital, sued for civil damages related to an assault BEFORE the election and none are doing any of that after the election either. If Trump raped or sexually assaulted Summer Zervos as alleged, why did she invite him to attend the grand opening of her new business during the election in 2016?
Plus Summer Zevros’ attorney has since dropped the case: https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/03/gloria-allred-summer-vervos-withdraws-case your link is outdated
Plus, regarding the Access Hollywood tape, the keyword in that quote is “let”. Trump said that women “let” men who are stars do those things. This is not true for all women but there are a small number of women who throw themselves at famous men. You see it with pro athletes, musicians such as Justin Beiber, and business executives. No where in that quote between two guys talking about women is there an admission of rape.
You seem to be deflecting though from Kieran’s original comment about Ronan Farrow getting results though
MrKnowItAll
I agree. Keep it up!
Mandrake
I agree. She did not want to become First Lady but she’s now stuck in her role and trying to make the best of it despite her husband’s behavior and Stormy. As FLOTUS, she’s not yet able to divorce him but likely will after his administration ends.
Heywood Jablowme
Here, I reworded your whine as it should have appeared in 2013 or so (but didn’t):
Obama Derangement Syndrome. It’s so useless to spew all the anti-Obama rhetoric because 1.) it’s not going to change a thing and 2.) it doesn’t make anybody feel better. It just hurts the anti-Obama crowd by making them look unhinged and unable to reconcile themselves to the fact that Obama is the President. There are those who would say, “keep it up” because it hurts the anti-Obama crowd so deeply. However, I say give it a rest because it’s boring, nobody wants to hear it anymore, it’s futile, and maybe it’s time to focus some positive energy on the midterms instead of stomping your feet and throwing a temper tantrum worthy of a 2 year old.
mhoffman953
@HeywoodJablowme
You can reword it all you want, but I don’t remember the majority critics of Obama having days where they scream at the sky, complain about how many scoops of ice cream he eats, argue about his past sex partners, analyze his style of handshakes, complain about the size of his hands or the length of his tie.
I seem to remember the main gripe with Obama were his disastrous policies which stagnated the already failing economy from Bush. This is why under Obama, Democrats lost over 1,000 political positions and eventually the presidency.
I never see any of the Trump critics accurately analyzing and critiquing policies
Kangol
Yep, he’s accomplished things no other president before has, outdoing Watergate. His lawyer-handler Michael Cohen is now going down for, among other things, having received $4 million for his shell company from foreign corporations and Russian oligarchs, demonstrating yet again that this president is a corrupt, pathological sleaze bag who, apparently it’s becoming clear, colluded/conspired with Russia. But hey, worship the “treasonous”* one all you want.
*”Treasonous” – Steve Bannon about Trump Jr./Kushner/Manafort meeting with Russia operatives/spies in Trump Tower
Kangol
@mhoffman953, you are right that Summer Zervos finally withdrew her lawsuit because she was terrified after receiving death threats from Trumpkinites. (The same thing happened with the young woman who credibly claimed that Trump had raped her, in the company of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, when she was 13.) the fact stands, TWENTY women have accused the sociopath of assault, and he admitted on tape that he assaults them. Forcibly kissing women against their will is assault. You try it and see if you get off. Grabbing them in their crotches against their will is assault. You try it and see if you can walk away without being arrested.
We all know that he justifies his horrible behavior by projecting, pushing it off on other people, and so on, and that he lies incessantly, and clearly, as the exploding Michael Cohen scandal shows, he has paid women off to keep quiet, because if he weren’t guilty, why would his corrupt handler be paying them off? But you console yourself with the fact that he’s innocent. His whole rotten house of cards is in serious trouble. I just hope his wife gets out before it crashes down on her and the little son too.
DCguy
nhoffman
Really? Funny how you left out the part where they complained about the color of his suit, complained about his kids, complained about Michelle’s clothing.
Oh, and please detail what you mean exactly by “Disasterous Policies” Seeing as how Melania is trying to copy some of the word for word it seems like they were working fine.
mhoffman953
@Kangol
You are wrong again. Summer Zevos’ attorney dropped the case, not Summer herself. Gloria Alred disassociated herself from Summer for unnamed reasons but there were rumors that the DNC was paying Summer, that is unconfirmed though.
Plus the alleged rape of a 13 year-old girl was thrown out of court numerous times because the judge didn’t believe it. First the woman filed the paper work as a civil rights case so that she couldn’t be counter sued and the judge told her that was wrong. Then she filed it again and withdrew the case right before the election. Her “attorney” isn’t even an attorney but instead if a former producer from the Jerry Springer show named Norm Lubow who used a fake name of “Al Taylor” to file the court documents. He has previously brought fake cases against other celebs from OJ Simpson to Courtney Love https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/07/donald-trump-sexual-assault-lawsuits-norm-lubow
And again no where in the Access Hollywood tape does anyone talk about forcibly doing anything against anyone’s will. It is specifically said that women “let” you do it. If you “let” me in your house, you can’t claim I forced my way into your house
mhoffman953
@DCguy
I don’t recall CNN, ABC, MSNBC, CBS, or NBC doing segments “where they complained about the color of his suit, complained about his kids, complained about Michelle’s clothing”
I don’t recall critics of Obama having days where they scream at the sky either
And when I say disastrous policies, I specifically stated the President’s policies. The first lady never makes policies but supports programs
Cylest Brooks
Really, mhoffman953, you don’t remember the whole suit thing with Obama? Seriously? Or the criticism for Michelle’s exposed arms? Or when people asked if their daughter got into college on merit or because of a quota? None of those ring a bell to you?
Sounds like selective memory to me.
KaiserVonScheiss
There’s a term for openly lying about people: libel.
Cylest Brooks
Hi! Friendly Queerty comment moderator here.
You might notice that a lot of comments are gone. I went through and deleted any thread that began with a topic OTHER than Melania and/or her “Be Best” campaign. Let’s keep the comments related to the topic, please! Thanks!
DCguy
:::::Clapping::::::
Josh in OR
“Be Best” is such an OBVIOUS show of one upmanship, its laughable. Michelle Obama had “Be Better”, so the unoriginal pile of hot Chinatown garbage that is our president likely insisted that Melania do better. So, Melania, who just…CLEARLY does not care…swapped ‘Better’ for ‘Best’, changed a few names, and called it a night.
It took 16 months because she just doesnt care enough, and hates everything about her situation, from her husband to her current house, to the people her husband ‘leads’ and everything we hold dear…but not enough to make her give up all that money, by divorcing his ass.