It is a tired cliche that beauty pageants are not known for their contestants’ razor-sharp analyses of the world’s political problems.
But this weekend during the Miss America beauty pageant, Miss Texas Margana Wood was asked to evaluate President Trump’s response to the white supremacist march in Charlottesville last month and she “did not hold back”, says Buzzfeed News.
In the twenty seconds Wood had to respond she said: “I think that the white supremacist issue, it was very obvious that it was a terrorist attack. And I think that President Donald Trump should’ve made a statement earlier addressing the fact, and in making sure all Americans feel safe in this country. That is the number one issue right now.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Wood's words were widely praised on Twitter with many suggesting she did a better job articulating herself than the president himself.
Wood’s comments “were in line with other statements she’s made”, says The Huffington Post. As Miss Texas, she called her platform “You Belong” and spoke out against bullying and for equality and inclusion.
“It’s important for everyone to hear the phrase because they do ― everybody belongs,” Wood told Out Smart, a Houston-based magazine for the LGBTQ community.
While Wood’s response drew loud cheers from the audience, she didn’t win the pageant. Miss North Dakota Cara Mund - who also criticised the president this time for pulling the US out of the Paris climate agreement - took this year’s crown.
Mund said Trump was wrong to withdraw the US from the climate accord aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. “It’s a bad decision,” she said.
“There is evidence that climate change is existing and we need to be at that table.”
-
The 8 best horror series of all timethe week recommends Lost voyages, haunted houses and the best scares in television history
-
Breaking news: the rise of ‘smash hit’ rage roomsUnder the Radar Paying to vent your anger on furniture is all the rage but experts are sceptical
-
Did markets’ ‘Sell America’ trade force Trump to TACO on Greenland?Today’s Big Question Investors navigate a suddenly uncertain global economy
-
Panama and Canada are caught in a dispute over a copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Trump backs off Greenland threats, declares ‘deal’Speed Read Trump and NATO have ‘formed the framework for a future deal,’ the president claimed
-
Iran in flames: will the regime be toppled?In Depth The moral case for removing the ayatollahs is clear, but what a post-regime Iran would look like is anything but
-
Europe moves troops to Greenland as Trump fixatesSpeed Read Foreign ministers of Greenland and Denmark met at the White House yesterday
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Trump, Iran trade threats as protest deaths riseSpeed Read The death toll in Iran has surpassed 500
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
What do the people of Greenland want for their future?As Europe prevaricates over US threats for annexation there is a unifying feeling of self-determination among Greenlanders
