Trump plagiarized his endorsement of Fox News' Jesse Watters book by cribbing a full sentence from HarperCollins
- Trump plagiarized his statement endorsing a new book written by Fox News' Jesse Watters.
- The statement copies the official description of the book word-for-word.
- This was not the first time Trump or someone linked to him has repurposed the words of others.
Former President Donald Trump issued a statement praising a new book from Jesse Watters of Fox News, but apparently did not feel compelled to write an original endorsement.
A majority of the former president's statement is pulled directly from the official description of the book from the publisher, HarperCollins, which also appears in the Amazon description.
As Slate's Jeremy Stahl pointed out, this exact phrasing appears in Trump's statement and in the official description: "Interspersed are his thoughtful suggestions for overcoming left-wing radicalism, maintaining American democracy, moving beyond aging hippies (like his long-suffering, loving parents), saving the world from social justice warriors and the deep state-all while smirking his way through life in only the nicest way."
The only original sections of Trump's statement state: "Great new book out by Jesse Watters, 'How I Saved the World,'" and "Get your copy today, congratulations Jesse!"
Watters shared Trump's statement via Twitter, without mentioning that it was effectively a carbon copy of the official book description. The Fox News host, who tends to shower Trump with praise, has been critical of President Joe Biden over past plagiarism scandals.
This did not mark the first time Trump or someone linked to him have repurposed someone else's words.
During the 2016 Republican National Convention, for example, former First Lady Melania Trump delivered a speech that included several passages that were near-identical to an address former First Lady Michelle Obama gave at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
A spokesperson for Trump did not offer a comment when contacted by Insider.