Did Donald Trump Mess With the Wrong "Criminal" Beauty Queen?

It may not be surprising that one of Donald Trump's most visible enemies today is a Venezuelan former beauty queen whom he fat-shamed and who was once accused of driving a getaway car from the scene of an attempted murder and threatening the life of a judge.

When a reality TV star runs for president, no less can be expected. 

This morning Trump took off on a red-eye Twitter rant, the type to which we've become accustomed. He denigrated former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, who served as a talking point during the debates for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, illustrating Trump's sexism.

"He called this woman 'Miss Piggy,'" Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton said. "Then he called her 'Miss Housekeeping,' because she was Latina. Donald, she has a name. Her name is Alicia Machado."

Clinton also launched a video featuring Machado, in which the pageant winner says Trump, then owner of the pageant, caused her to have an eating disorder after shaming her when she gained weight after coronation as Miss Universe. Like many others, Machado also accuses Trump of cheating her out of money she earned. 

Donald Trump called her "Miss Piggy" and "Miss Housekeeping."

Her name is Alicia Machado. #DebateNight pic.twitter.com/0wrISjJe6z

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 27, 2016

Early this morning, Trump snapped back, accusing Clinton of "bad judgment," but misspelling the word "judgment."

Wow, Crooked Hillary was duped and used by my worst Miss U. Hillary floated her as an "angel" without checking her past, which is terrible!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016

Using Alicia M in the debate as a paragon of virtue just shows that Crooked Hillary suffers from BAD JUDGEMENT! Hillary was set up by a con.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016

Did Crooked Hillary help disgusting (check out sex tape and past) Alicia M become a U.S. citizen so she could use her in the debate?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016

Oddly, instead of mentioning the fact that Machado was accused of being accomplice to an attempted murder, Trump decided to call her out for a sex tape for which there is no evidence. It's as if he falls into the trap of his own sexism over and over again.

On CNN, Anderson Cooper gave Machado a chance to address the more serious allegations against her. "I am not a saint girl, but that is not the point now." Machado told Cooper. "That moment in Venezuela was wrong, was another speculation about my life."

On Instagram, Machado went into more detail in her native language. "The Republican candidate and his campaign team are again generating attacks, insults and trying to revive slanders and false accusations about my life," she wrote in Spanish. "All this in order to intimidate, humiliate me and destabilize me again. The attacks that have emerged are slander and lies cheap generated with bad intentions, which have no foundation that have been spread by sensationalist media."

 

"El candidato republicano y su equipo de campaña nuevamente están generando ataques, insultos e intentando revivir difamaciones y falsas acusaciones sobre mi vida. Todo eso con la finalidad de intimidarme, humillarme y desequilibrarme una vez más. Los ataques que han surgido son calumnias y mentiras baratas generadas con malas intenciones, que no tienen fundamento que han sido difundidas por medios amarillistas. Ésta, por supuesto, no es la primera vez que enfrento una situación así. Por medio de su campaña de odio, el candidato republicano insiste en desacreditar y desmoralizar a una mujer, lo que definitivamente es una de sus características más aterradoras. Con esto, busca distraer la atención de sus reales problemas y de su incapacidad para pretender ser el líder de este gran país. Cuando era apenas una jovencita, el ahora candidato, me humilló, me insultó, me irrespetó públicamente, como lo hacía usualmente de forma privada de la forma más cruel. Así como esto me pasó a mí, es claro a través de los años, que sus acciones y conductas se han repetido con otras mujeres durante décadas. Por lo tanto, seguiré de pie, compartiendo mi historia, mi apoyo absoluto a la señora Clinton en nombre de las mujeres, de mis hermanas, tías, abuelas, primas, amigas y la comunidad femenina. A mis latinas y en general, quiero agradecerles todo el apoyo, el amor y el respeto, a mi carrera, a mi persona como ser humano y a mi familia. Yo me hice ciudadana de este gran país porque aquí nació mi hija y porque quería ejercer todos mis derechos, entre ellos votar. Continuaré de pie, firme en mi experiencia vivida como Miss Universo y ustedes conmigo apoyándome. He estado tan complacida por tantas palabras amables, por tanto amor. Yo estoy centrándome en mi ocupada carrera, en mi labor de madre y voy a seguir dando pasos positivos para la comunidad latina, seguiré como activista en pro de los derechos de la mujer y el respeto que nos merecemos. Aprecio todo su amor y todo su apoyo nuevamente, gracias". Miles de bendiciones.

A photo posted by Alicia Machado (@machadooficial) on Sep 30, 2016 at 7:25am PDT

Clinton stood by Machado. "This is unhinged, even for Trump," she tweeted in response to his continued attack on Machado. She added:

What kind of man stays up all night to smear a woman with lies and conspiracy theories?

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 30, 2016