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Hillary Clinton has spun Alicia Machado into her campaign’s anti-Trump poster child. Trump could easily sidestep this issue, but instead he’s tripping over it — to Hillary’s benefit.
Alicia Machado is a former Miss Universe who claims that Trump demeaned her when she gained weight. He allegedly called her “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping.”
Trump’s version of the story is that he saved her job when others wanted to take away her crown, and he went to the gym with her to show support. Judging by video clips of their gym trip, it wasn’t about exercise so much as it was an exercise in humiliation. Reporters were invited along to document the occasion.
Machado was Hillary’s secret weapon at the debate. She’s young, Latina, a new US citizen, and female — four demographics who are crucial in Hillary’s campaign for the White House.
Trump’s best option would have been to be gracious and then change the subject. He could have said, “Hey, I spoke harshly, and I’m really sorry. I hope Ms. Machado accepts my apology. This campaign is not about Miss Universe. If only I could get Hillary to apologize for lying to the American people about her emails, we’d really be getting somewhere.”
Instead, he took the bait and stumbled on his response. It only got worse over the next few days. Newt Gingrich, a Trump surrogate, went on television and defended the cruel comments Trump made over ten years ago. “You’re not supposed to gain 60 pounds when you’re Miss Universe.”
You’re also not supposed to humiliate someone when you’re a decent human being.
Trump took to Twitter around 3 AM on Friday to once again remind us all of how he treats Alicia Machado. He called her “a con” and “my worst Miss U.” She has been accused of driving the getaway car when her then-boyfriend attempted to murder someone, and then threatening the judge who indicted the boyfriend for attempted murder.
The allegations are serious and cast doubts on her character. But they do not give Trump, or anyone else, a free pass to demean her for her weight, gender, or ethnicity.
Trump did not get this memo, and after his early morning Tweetstorm, went back to double down: “For those few people knocking me for tweeting at 3 o’clock in the morning, at least you know I will be there, awake, to answer the call!”
Hillary’s “3 AM phone call” commercial from the 2008 primary is one of the most famous political ads of all time. Using that against her is strategic, but it would be even more shrewd of him to pretend to have any shred of respect for Ms. Machado, who was an employee of his organization.
The best thing Trump could do now is first apologize to Machado, and then stop talking about her.
