July 20, 2016
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says Meredith McIver is the speechwriter behind Melania Trump's controversial address on Monday night.
Related Article: Explainer: The songs, and cartoon characters, swept up in Melania Trump's plagiarism scandal
In a statement released Wednesday, McIver admitted as much about the similarities between Trump's speech and the remarks given by Michelle Obama in 2008.
Trump staffer Meredith McIver releases a statement on the Melania Trump plagiarism incident https://t.co/FRMczR5KFh pic.twitter.com/cDw53CL6gH
— CNN (@CNN) July 20, 2016
Yet many observers on Twitter are suspicious about the seemingly scant evidence that McIver even exists, according to Mashable.
Serious question: has any news outlet seen or interviewed Meredith McIver? Asking because of the GOP candidate's history of using aliases.
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) July 20, 2016
On Wednesday afternoon, several people began wondering why McIver would have such a small digital footprint if she were really in the position of political power she holds.
"Meredith Mciver"
— Shannon Coulter (@shannoncoulter) July 20, 2016
— No LinkedIn
— Twitter @meredithmciver1 creat. Jul 2016
— 1st Tweets < 24 hrs ago
— Blurry Designing Women-era headshot
After two days denying that Melania Trump's convention speech was plagiarized, Trump told ABC on Wednesday that McIver is a "terrific person" and should keep her job.
"People make mistakes," Trump said. "We all make mistakes."
Almost everything in this Meredith McIver profile, including pics, were added 15 hours ago: https://t.co/KtCoD8wsJH
— Laura (@SheWhoVotes) July 20, 2016
Does Meredith McIver (Melania speechwriter) exist? She has a FB page with no friends that was created today. pic.twitter.com/DS9SIIPUwY
— Cheryl G (@steakhousegirl) July 20, 2016
"Meredith McIver" is an anagram for "Deceit River...Hmm." Hmm...
— Ben Greenman (@bengreenman) July 20, 2016
Eventually, this spawned the hashtag #DoesMeredithMcIverExist
Seriously tho I genuinely hope that possible leaders of our societies have not yet stooped to these levels #DoesMeredithMcIverExist
— Jason Hart (@Iostboy_ashton) July 21, 2016
.@CNN please do a face to face live video interview with Meredith McIver to answer #DoesMeredithMcIverExist or is she from #TrumpTowerOfLies
— Steven Cravis (@StevenCravis) July 20, 2016
To quote the republicans: Can we see a birth certificate and legal ID please? #DoesMeredithMcIverExist
— Hr RMag (@AnnaDruvez) July 21, 2016
One of the few people to come forward and verify the existence of McIver is former CNN host Piers Morgan, who said he's had frequent interactions with her.
I've had many dealings with @realDonaldTrump's aide Meredith McIver. Very smart, very loyal lady. Feel for her. https://t.co/QRtnHrqLCW
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 20, 2016
CNN also supplied what appears to be a photo of McIver, which appeared on her Facebook page. Another alleged photo of McIver is included in Trump's book "How to Get Rich," where Trump or his ghostwriter dedicated a paragraph to her.
Who is Meredith McIver? She ID'd herself as responsible for Melania Trump's #RNCinCLE speech https://t.co/2RhaYcewPP pic.twitter.com/Caw7K1Mvux
— CNN (@CNN) July 20, 2016
Other oddities include an Amazon author page for McIver that shows Trump collaborations — but no photo or bio — and deleted account with the All American Speakers Bureau.
In a New York Times story on Melania's gaffe, McIver is referenced as a New York City-based former ballet dancer and English major. At no point, however, did the newspaper have contact with McIver. She didn't respond to a request for comment.
It's far from clear why the Trump campaign wouldn't accept responsibility for Melania's speech and name an actual person behind the error. Then again, Trump does have a long, strange history of using fake names. Eventually, McIver will have to appear in some way if she's real.
