"In writing her lovely speech, Melania's team of writers took notes on her life's inspirations, and in some instances included fragments that reflected her own thinking", Jason Miller, Trump's senior communications advisor, said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, Christie also sought to defuse some of the controversy surrounding Trump's wife Melania's speech Monday night and accusations that two of the passages were lifted almost word-for-word from a speech that first lady Michelle Obama delivered in 2008 at the Democratic National Convention. "Guilty! Guilty!" and called her "a sham we can not promote to commander-in-chief someone who has made America more vulnerable with every decision she's made". Look around at the violence and danger in our world today.

And yet, when Christie was asked a day earlier by a MI delegate whether he would actually prosecute Clinton if he were to become the nation's top law enforcement official, the Garden State big demurred.

Saying that because "the Justice Department refused to prosecute her", that he would prosecute her Tuesday night in Cleveland with the audience being the jury.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan called for unity among Republicans after a bruising primary season and said it is time for America to move on from the failed promises of President Barack Obama and the proposed Clinton agenda.

"We have a man who is unafraid". Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been a lukewarm supporter of Trump, was greeted with a smattering of boos as he took the stage.

Mrs. Trump was widely praised for her success in doing just that, despite the plagiarism charges.

Later Tuesday Clinton received an endorsement from a separate national union group, UNITE HERE, during a campaign event at the Culinary Academy, 710 W. Lake Mead Blvd.

On Day 2 of the Republican National Convention, the main focus will be on the economy and job security. Much of the available gear, which includes everything from T-shirts to pin badges, feature a Trump-Pence logo (the modified version) or the business mogul's campaign rhetoric.

Both had been slow and somewhat reluctant to endorse Mr Trump, and both declined to give him more than a passing mention in their convention speeches.

"Ninety-three percent of the speech is completely different", Christie said.

After a warm opening in which he declared himself once again to be "Donald Trump's friend for the last 14 years", Christie proceeded to assail Clinton's "dismal record" as secretary of state. He later won re-election for governor in a landslide and was considered a favorite for the party's nomination in 2016, only to see his political fortunes fall after the George Washington Bridge political scandal.