Offer to resign by Melania Trump's speechwriter is declined

CLEVELAND, July 20 (UPI) -- Meredith McIver, who identified herself as the writer of the speech Melania Trump gave to the Republican National Convention, said Wednesday her offer to resign was declined.

Melania Trump's speech Monday was well-received until suggestions surfaced that sections of it were plagiarized from Michelle Obama's address to the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

In a statement Wednesday, McIver referred to Melania Trump as someone who "always liked Michelle Obama." McIver identified herself as an "in-house staff writer for the Trump organization" and a "longtime friend and admirer of the Trump family" who, as she prepared to write the speech, wrote down passages of Michelle Obama's speech as Melania Trump recited them to her by telephone.

"I later included some of the phrasing in the draft that ultimately became the final speech (by Melania Trump). 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," the statement said. McIver said in the statement that her offer to resign was declined.

"Mr. Trump told me that people make innocent mistakes and that we learn and grow from these experiences," the statement read.

The apparent plagiarism in Monday's speech was the primary focus of Tuesday's convention analysis, as well as shifting explanations from the Trump camp and the media.

Campaign manager Paul Manafort denied that lifting of entire passages of the Obama speech occurred, telling CNN Tuesday, "To think that she would do something like that knowing how scrutinized her speech was going to be last night is just really absurd."

Melania Trump later told NBC News she wrote the speech largely by herself. NBC News reported the original draft of the speech did not include Obama's words, and Donald Trump later blamed speechwriters, unnamed at that time, who "should have cleaned it up better."