Millions of Americans were listening on Monday night when Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton denounced Republican nominee Donald Trump for his history of negative commentary at the expense of women — specifically, former “Miss Universe” Alicia Machado.
During Monday night’s presidential debate, Clinton said of Trump: “[O]ne of the worst things he said was about a woman in a beauty contest — he loves beauty contests, supporting them and hanging around them — and he called this woman ‘Miss Piggy,’ then he called her ‘Miss Housekeeping’ because she was Latina.”
The name-calling occurred in 1996, following Machado’s victory in the Miss Universe pageant. Twenty years later, Trump is defending his comments, claiming that Machado “gained a massive amount of weight and it was a real problem.”
Of Clinton’s recognition of her story, Machado said, “I started crying because I never imagined that such an important person like her would care about my story, know about my story.”
Machado admits that Trump’s comments left her with lifelong scars. In an interview with Today, Machado says, “You know, with 18 years old, when you are growing up, that was horrible for me . . . My self-esteem [was] on the floor.”
Following the pageant, Machado suffered from eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia. The overlap of Machado’s young age and her involvement in the beauty industry was already a catalyst for the development of such issues; Trump’s calling her “Miss Piggy,” “Miss Housekeeping,” and “Miss Eating Machine,” as well as forcing her to work out in front of reporters, certainly did not improve her self-image and developing sense of identity. To add salt to her wounds, Trump told Howard Stern in the 90’s that Machado gained 55 pounds following her Miss Universe victory, but Machado claims she actually only gained eighteen — not that it’s anybody’s business.
In reference to Trump, Machado told Today, “That same person I knew, I see in each one of his speeches . . . And I see it getting worse and I see it even more harmful and even more damaging.”
Machado is the not the only victim of sexism at the hands of Trump. Trump apparently has a rich history of misogyny in his one-on-one interactions with women, ranging from unwarranted sexual advances to tasteless body-shaming; the debate on Monday simply sheds light on one particularly disheartening case — a case which may contribute to the perceptions that citizens have of the candidates as November approaches.
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