Miss Texas slams Trump over Charlottesville response, white supremacy
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Miss Texas Margana Wood (Miss America)
Miss Texas slammed President Trump during the Q&A portion of the televised Miss America pageant Sunday night in Atlantic City.
Margana Wood was asked about Trump’s response to August’s deadly rally in Charlottesville, VA. which resulted in the death of 32-year Heather Heyer, who was killed when a car rammed through a crowd protesting white supremacists.
Trump sparked a huge backlash when he initially blamed both sides for the violence and questioned whether taking down Confederate statues would lead to the removal of memorials dedicated to George Washington.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The 22-year-old used her 20 seconds to criticize Trump’s response.
"I think that the white supremacist issue, it was very obvious that it was a terrorist attack," she said. "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 No. 1 issue right now."
Wood initially won the first night of preliminary competition Wednesday night where she remembered flood victims of Hurricane Harvey in her hometown of Houston. She told Fox News Thursday her home was spared by the dangerous floodwater, but has many friends whose homes were destroyed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“It was very important for me to let everyone know that my heart is still in Houston,” she explained. “I also didn’t want everyone to think that Miss Texas should win Miss America because of the storm. I want to become Miss America because the judges believe in me and believe I can do the job. Not because of a sympathy vote or anything.
“I’ve heard some people say that to me and I just want to set the record straight. The judges are there for a very specific reason. But it was extremely important for me to let everyone know that I am thinking of them while I’m here in Atlantic City and that I am here with a heavy heart, but I’m also just as excited for the experience.”
Miss North Dakota Cara Mund, a 23-year-old who said Trump was wrong to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord, was named Miss America 2018.