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Cleveland • With an entrance fit for a rock star or a professional wrestler, Donald Trump walked through the fog onto the convention stage as spotlights swirled and Queen's "We Are the Champions" played.
It was the first real showbiz moment of the Republican National Convention, and yet his appearance lasted but a minute.
"We are going to win. We are going to win so big," he said, before introducing his wife, Melania Trump. "An amazing mother, an incredible woman."
Melania Trump, a retired model and naturalized U.S. citizen from Slovenia who rarely speaks publicly, didn't match her husband's glitzy entrance. Instead, she delivered a steady 15-minute speech describing her husband as kind, strong and reliable. A portion of the address later was found to mirror, almost word for word, that of Michelle Obama's during the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.
The passages in question focus on lessons that Melania Trump says 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. Her talk was otherwise distinct from the address that Mrs. Obama gave when then-Sen. Barack Obama was being nominated for president.
Campaign chief strategist Paul Manafort later called allegations of plagiarism "absurd," and blamed the Hillary Clinton campaign for its effort to focus media attention on the controversy.
"When Hillary Clinton is threatened by a female the first thing she does is to try to destroy the person," Manafort said, according to The New York Times.
Speaking of her husband's values and character, Melenia Trump said: "I know he will make a great and lasting difference.… If you want someone to fight for you and your country, I can assure you he is the guy."
In the next few days, four of Trump's adult children — Donald Jr., Eric, Ivanka and Tiffany — from previous marriages will also address the delegates, seeking to soften their father's brash image.
"They are an amazing testament to who he is as a man and a father," Melania Trump said.
She also sought to respond to some of the oft-repeated criticism of her husband.
After a tough primary season in which Donald Trump regularly referred to his challengers as "Lyin' " Ted Cruz and "Little" Marco Rubio, Melania Trump said: "They deserve their respect and gratitude from all of us."
While he has been criticized for comments alienating minority groups, Melania Trump said, "Donald intends to represent all of the people, not just some of the people."
And still, she gave a nod to her husband's trademark unpredictability.
"You have turned this unlikely campaign into a movement that is still gaining in strength and number," she said. "It would not be a Trump contest without excitement and drama."
Utah's 40 delegates range from vehement Trump opponents to those who will grudgingly vote for him. Still, they stood and applauded when Trump introduced his wife and were pleased by her speech.
State Sen. Scott Jenkins, a delegate from the 1st Congressional District, said he was impressed.
"She's great," he said. "She'd make a good first lady."
The important thing, he added, is that she loves her country and her husband.
Michelle Scharf, an alternative delegate who remains skeptical of Donald Trump's candidacy, said: "I was impressed, just from the way she looks, the way she speaks and her genuineness that comes across."
— Reporter Thomas Burr and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Twitter: @mattcanham