Donald Trump Doubles Down On Criticizing Former Miss Universe Alicia Machado’s Weight Gain

Donald Trump faced an attack from Hillary Clinton during the first general election presidential debate about the offensive language he has used to describe former Miss Universe Alicia Machado. The day after, Trump tried to justify his treatment of Machado.

Donald Trump On Alicia Machado

Debate moderator Lester Holt had opened up the line of discussion Monday night by asking Trump about claiming that Clinton doesn’t have the “look” to be president. Trump didn’t dispute the comment and then pivoted to talking about Clinton’s stamina. Clinton responded by pointing out the taxing travel schedule she endured as Secretary of State, as well as withstanding an 11-hour hearing. Then, she brought the conversation back to Trump’s obsession with people’s – particularly women’s – looks.

“This is a man who has calling women pigs, slobs and dogs and someone who has said pregnancy is an inconvenience to employers, who has said that women don’t deserve equal pay unless they do as good a job as men,” said Clinton. She then brought up Machado, who Trump had called “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping” when he owned the Miss Universe pageant and was displeased with her weight again after winning the crown.

“Donald, she has a name. Her name is Alicia Machado,” said Clinton. “And she has become a U.S. citizen and you can bet she is going to vote this November.”

Trump didn’t do much Monday night to deny his treatment of Machado. And by Tuesday morning, he was giving a full-throated defense of it, again citing her weight.

“She was the worst we ever had. The worst, the absolute worst. She was impossible, and she was a Miss Universe contestant and ultimately a winner who they had a tremendously difficult time with as Miss Universe,” Trump said on Fox News’s Fox and Friends. “She was the winner, and, you know, she gained a massive amount of weight, and it was a real problem.”

Machado became a U.S. citizen earlier this year. Not only is she planning to vote for Clinton in November, but she appears in a powerful new ad from the campaign.