During one of the most memorable moments of Monday's presidential debate, Hillary Clinton evoked former Miss Universe winner Alicia Machado to illustrate Donald Trump's misogynistic and racist way of speaking about women. But even as Trump has doubled-down on criticizing Machado's weight, rumors have arisen of the Venezuelan beauty queen's alleged involvement in a murder plot in her home country. Given a chance to respond to the allegations Tuesday, Machado told Anderson Cooper, "You know, I have my past. Of course, everybody has a past. I'm not a saint girl. But that is not the point now."
Cooper had brought up the 1998 incident in which Machado was accused of driving a getaway car for a murder, but was never charged. "The judge in the case also said you threatened to kill him after he indicted your boyfriend for the attempted murder. I just want to give you a chance to address these reports that the Trump surrogates are talking about," Cooper said.
Subscribe to 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.
-
Real-life couples creating real-deal sparks in the best movies to star IRL partnersThe Week Recommends The chemistry between off-screen items can work wonders
-
Is China's giant new hydropower dam a 'water bomb' aimed at India?Today's Big Question River is a 'lifeline for millions' across Asia
-
Aysegul Savas' 6 favorite books for readers who love immersive settingsFeature The Paris-based Turkish author recommends works by Hiromi Kawakami, Virginia Woolf, and more
-
Judge halts GOP defunding of Planned ParenthoodSpeed Read The Trump administration can't withhold Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood, said the ruling
-
Trump contradicts Israel, says 'starvation' in GazaSpeed Read The president suggests Israel could be doing more to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians
-
Trump executive order targets homelessSpeed Read It will now be easier for states and cities to remove homeless people from the streets
-
Columbia pays $200M to settle with White HouseSpeed Read The Trump administration accused the school of failing to protect its Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests
-
Florida judge and DOJ make Epstein trouble for TrumpSpeed Read The Trump administration's request to release grand jury transcripts from the Epstein investigation was denied
-
Trump attacks Obama as Epstein furor mountsSpeed Read The Trump administration accused the Obama administration of 'treasonous' behavior during the 2016 election
-
Trump administration releases MLK filesSpeed Read Newly released documents on the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not hold any new revelations, King historians said
-
Japan's prime minister feels pressure after election lossesSpeed Read Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to remain in office
