Social media users were quick to "attribute" more inspirational phrases to potential first lady Melania Trump, after her speech at the Republican National Convention on Monday appeared to repeat several lines from a 2008 address by Michelle Obama.

Melania Trump's apparently ripped-off remarks were part of a 10-minute address at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. She appeared to repeat, nearly word-for-word, one of Michelle Obama's anecdotes from 2008, when Mrs. Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

A few words were different, but the passages remain quite recognizable when the two speeches are analyzed side-by-side.

Michelle Obama 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."

: "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."

Trump appeared to borrow Obama's words at another point in the speech, when talking about the values she wants to instil in her son.

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

Obama 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."

The striking similarities between the two speeches touched off a flurry of ridicule on social media under the hashtag #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes. A number of tweets attributed quotes to Mrs. Trump that were clearly Michelle Obama-specific (e.g. "Barack is still the same man I fell in love with all those years ago"). Others attributed song lyrics and quotes from famous African-Americans to Melania Trump.

People also poked fun at Melania Trump by suggesting she used the "copy and paste" function on her computer to write her speech.

The Trump campaign has dismissed plagiarism accusations as "absurd."

On Tuesday morning, Trump backer Chris Christie defended Melania on the Today Show, saying: "93 per cent of the speech is completely diffferent than Michelle Obama's speech."