Donald Trump says Melania speech 'included fragments that reflected her own thinking'

Donald Trump's campaign team has issued a statement on the controversy surrounding his wife Melania Trump's speech at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

The keynote speech by Ms Trump contained two passages which match nearly word for word the speech that First Lady Michelle Obama delivered at the Democratic National Convention in 2008.

The similarity was quickly spotted by political commentators and has overshadowed what was otherwise a well-received speech aimed at presenting Mr Trump's "softer side".

The Trump campaign responded in a statement did not mention Ms Obama.

"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," Trump spokesman Jason Miller said.

"Melania's immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it such a success," Miller said.

The passages in question focus on lessons that Ms Trump, the wife of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, said she learned from her parents and the relevance of their lessons in her experience as a mother.

They came near the beginning of her roughly 10-minute speech, which was otherwise distinct from the address that Ms Obama gave when her husband, then-Senator Barack Obama, was being nominated for president.

In Ms Trump's speech in Cleveland, Ohio, she said: "From a young age, my parents impressed on me the values that you work hard for what you want in life, 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."

In Ms Obama's 2008 speech in Denver, Colorado, she said: "And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: 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."

Another passage with notable similarities that followed two sentences later in Ms Trump's speech addressed her attempts to instil those values in her son.

"We need to pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow," Ms Trump said. "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."

In the First Lady's 2008 speech, she said: "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."

Additional reporting by AP