Megyn Kelly gently grills former Miss Universe Alicia Machado on Trump claims
Hillary Clinton brought up former Miss Universe winner Alicia Machado in her debate against Donald Trump on Monday night, then quickly released an ad with Machado talking (in Spanish) about how Trump's insults and comments about her weight humiliated and shamed her. Trump repeated his criticism of Machado's weight on Fox & Friends Tuesday morning, a point Megyn Kelly obliquely brought up when she interviewed Machado on Tuesday night's Kelly File.
"The Trump campaign can't really deny that he harassed you over your weight, because it's on camera — many times," she said. "They seem to be denying the specific charges Hillary leveled, which is the language of 'Miss Piggy' and 'Miss Housekeeping.'" She asked if Machado had any witnesses when Trump called her those names, and Machado said, in slightly stilted English, it happened 20 years ago and that she came forward to share her story for her Latino community and to "open a few eyes."
Kelly noted that Machado now says Trump's comments helped drive her into eating disorders, including anorexia and bulimia, then read a 1997 interview in The Washington Post in which Machado appears to say she had eating disorders for years before winning Miss Universe. Machado said no, "I never had any problem before the Miss Universe" pageant. "No, I'm sorry, but that was not true," she added after Kelly read the quote. "Maybe in that moment, they — the company, Miss Universe, and in specific, this person — they manipulated a lot of information about me."
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.
"I'm here because I know this person, and he is not a good person — that is the point," Machado said. "The point is, no more abuse for us. No more abuse for the girls. If you gain weight, if you don't look [like] the most beautiful girl in the world, you have your mind, you have your heart, you are strong, you are intelligent. And in the future, that ladies can be a president, too."
Editor's note: This post originally misstated that Hillary Clinton did not use Alicia Machado's name in Monday's debate. She did use her name, saying to Donald Trump, "Her name is Alicia Machado and she has become a U.S. citizen and you can bet she's going to vote this November."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Sudoku hard: November 13, 2025The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Codeword: November 13, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Who were the ‘weekend snipers’ of Sarajevo?Under the Radar Italian authorities launch investigation into allegations far-right gun enthusiasts paid to travel to Bosnian capital and shoot civilians ‘for fun’ during the four-year siege
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
-
Democrats split as Senate votes to end shutdownSpeed Read The proposed deal does not extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, the Democrats’ main demand
-
USDA orders states to ‘undo’ full SNAP paymentsSpeed Read The Trump administration is telling states not to pay full November food stamp benefits
-
Senate takes first step to end record shutdownSpeed Read Eight senators in the Democratic caucus voted with Republicans to advance legislation to reopen the government
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
