Donald Trump has become completely unhinged over Alicia Machado, the former Miss Universe brought up by Hillary Clinton in Monday night's debate.
Said Clinton in the debate:
And one of the worst things he said was about a woman in a beauty contest. He loves beauty contests, supporting them and hanging around them. And he called this woman “Miss Piggy.” Then he called her “Miss Housekeeping,” because she was Latina. Donald, she has a name…Her name is Alicia Machado….And she has become a U.S. citizen, and you can bet… she's going to vote this November.
Following the debate, Machado has been used as a surrogate by the Clinton campaign and hit the cable news networks and television shows.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2i63x6Ga2w
As Politico notes, “Trump has taken the bait.”
In a series of tweets last night starting at 3:20 am, Trump lashed out about Machado, urging the public to check out a “sex tape” she allegedly made:
“Anytime you see a story about me or my campaign saying “sources said,” DO NOT believe it. There are no sources, they are just made up lies!…Wow, Crooked Hillary was duped and used by my worst Miss U. Hillary floated her as an “angel” without checking her past, which is terrible!…Using Alicia M in the debate as a paragon of virtue just shows that Crooked Hillary suffers from BAD JUDGEMENT! Hillary was set up by a con… Did Crooked Hillary help disgusting (check out sex tape and past) Alicia M become a U.S. citizen so she could use her in the debate?
Anytime you see a story about me or my campaign saying "sources said," DO NOT believe it. There are no sources, they are just made up lies!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016
Wow, Crooked Hillary was duped and used by my worst Miss U. Hillary floated her as an "angel" without checking her past, which is terrible!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016
Using Alicia M in the debate as a paragon of virtue just shows that Crooked Hillary suffers from BAD JUDGEMENT! Hillary was set up by a con.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016
Did Crooked Hillary help disgusting (check out sex tape and past) Alicia M become a U.S. citizen so she could use her in the debate?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016
But there is no sex tape, according to Politico:
The day after Monday's debate, Trump admitted to Fox News that Clinton's bringing his history with Machado into the race had gotten under his skin, calling her “the worst we ever had” as a Miss Universe winner because “she gained a massive amount of weight, and it was a real problem.” In the days since, Trump and his surrogates have sought to further discredit her by bringing up a nearly two-decade old attempted murder investigation in which Machado was never charged and accusing her of starring in pornographic films.
While Machado has starred in risqué reality TV programs and posed nude for the Mexican version of Playboy magazine, the Daily Beast and other outlets that investigated the claim found no evidence that she has starred in any pornographic films and that the clips posted online actually feature another woman.
And here are some reactions:
Impulsive attacks on people who criticize him while functioning on very little sleep – not disconcerting at all… https://t.co/mqYJwlhnH7
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan on 🟦☁️) (@BrendanNyhan) September 30, 2016
https://twitter.com/clarknt67/status/781826337354940417
https://twitter.com/buzzfeedandrew/status/781831763786162176