Donald Trump accused Miss Universe, Paulina Vega, of being a "hypocrite" for criticizing him for the remarks he made in his presidential campaign announcement about Mexican immigrants while refusing to relinquish her crown.
"Miss Universe, Paulina Vega, criticized me for telling the truth about illegal immigration, but then said she would keep the crown — Hypocrite," Trump, who owns the beauty pageant,
tweeted early Sunday morning after Vega posted a statement on Instagram criticizing him, reports
Fox News Latino.
The
Colombian beauty queen had posted a photograph on Thursday of her banner and a statement in Spanish and English, saying Trump's comments that Mexico was sending drug dealers and rapists into the United States were "hurtful and unfair."
Trump's comments have already prompted Univision, NBC and Mexican's Televisa to back away from the Miss Universe organization, and Panama, Mexico, El Salvador and Costa Rica have all
pulled their candidates from the pageant.
"As a Mexican, I feel very offended and indignant like everyone else, as Miss Universe I think Donald Trump is doing great harm to the organization,” former Miss Universe Lupita Jones, who heads the Mexican pageant selection, tweeted in Spanish:
In a statement Jones also said, "It’s a shame that because of his racist comments we lose what the competition has promoted and represented for so many years in an atmosphere of harmony and peace among nations; therefore, and in accordance to the statement by Televisa, we will not participate in Miss Universe."
The
Miss Universe Organization itself has also said it was "disheartened" by the events, as this year's contestants include four women of Mexican descent.
"While world politics and other influences will undoubtedly play a role, the pageant will always seek to transcend controversy," pageant officials said. "It is unfortunate that recent events beyond our control have only served to negatively impact the women who participate in the pageant, our state directors, our sponsors and our fans.
"We want our supporters to know we remain committed to them and we will be conducting the pageant, regardless of the current situation."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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