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  • 2016-07-21 (xsd:date)
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  • Trump Ghostwriter Meredith McIver Doesn't Exist? (en)
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  • On 18 July 2016, Donald Trump's wife Melania delivered a speech that was stirring in many ways — portions of the audience watching in the convention hall and on television were moved, while otherswere spun into a frenzy upon immediately noticing that portions of Melania's convention address appeared to have been lifted from Michelle Obama's 2008 convention speech. A litany of explanations were floated by the Trump campaign, its surrogates, and the media for two days after the controversial incident. But on 20 July 2016, the Trump campaign released a letter [PDF] that initially prompted more questions than answers, attributing the error to Trump speechwriter/ghostwriter Meredith McIver and asserting that McIver had tendered her resignation (which was summarily rejected by Donald Trump): In a year of what felt like increasingly implausible news, Melania Trump's controversy and the involvement of Meredith McIver in it was just another bizarre twist to many social media users and journalists. No one could recall having previously heard of Meredith McIver even though many of the campaign's operatives were well known to the news media, making the public suspicious that Melania's speechwriter was another John Barron. (Barron was one of two pseudonyms used by Trump himself to interact with the media earlier in his career.) Entire articles pointed out seeming holes in the putative existence of the Meredith McIver character: A Google search restricted to a few months prior to July 2016 was populated with references to McIver as a Trump employee, primarily with respect to her co-authorship of Trump books. And in 2007 the Guardian published a piece (which has not since been edited to include a reference to McIver) in which the elusive writer made a brief appearance in an article about Donald Trump: McIver was also heard (but not seen) in a 2005 New York Times article about ghostwriters that referenced her (open) co-authorship of that year's Trump book, Think Like a Billionaire: Furthermore, Meredith McIver is registered to vote in New York City (but presumably didn't cast a ballot in the state's closed primary for her boss, given that she is registered as a Democrat). While Meredith McIver may have maintained a low profile throughout her years in Trump's employ, she has been spotted by at least one journalist and maintains an active voter registrant. The sudden spotlight shined upon her made her convenient appearance suspicious, but the evidence suggests McIver has been kicking around Trump Tower for quite some time. (en)
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