Unless Donald Trump acquires the powers of Marvel’s Professor X and manages to brainwash the world or erase every proof of his disgusting nature from the internet, he should probably think a gazillion times before saying anything. But Trump — who has successfully taught the likes of MTG to jump before looking — wouldn’t be Trump if he didn’t do the opposite.
When the former president is making harmless boasts like winning two championship trophies at a gold club he owns, it is easy to mock it for a while and then let it slide, let the man have his delusions. But it becomes an impossible task to overlook when he proudly talks about owning and successfully running the Miss Universe pageant for years and compares it to his stint as the U.S. President.
Looks like Trump is now a fan of dry humor because the two actually do share stark similarities — Trump exploiting his position of power, openly admitting that he was a disgusting abomination in the name of humanity in both cases and then experiencing a strange bout of amnesia when talking about it later.
“I owned the Miss Universe Pageant for 19 years, did VERY well with it, sold it to IMG at a great profit, and ran for President. It was a contest like no other! But now I have one that’s even better. Who is the WORST, most EVIL and most CORRUPT JUDGE? Would it be Judge Arthur Engoron, Judge Lewis Kaplan or, could it be that my current New York disaster, Judge Juan Merchan, is the WORST?
They are all from violent crime (without retribution!) filled New York, are really bad Judges, are extraordinarily conflicted and unfair, and most obviously to all, suffer from a rare but very lethal disease, TDS, commonly known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME. Please reply here!!!”
While it is clear that all the gag orders and penalties in the world won’t curb Trump’s need to publicly attack those against him in derogatory statements made on social media, jogging memories about his run as the owner of Miss Universe and its sister scholarship programs, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA for almost two decades, years that were riddled with eye-brow raising actions and comments from the ex-POTUS? Just brazen or brain dead?
Maybe he is testing our memories — he does want you to “please reply here” – but everyone remembers why Trump had to sell the pageant to IMG. Because he publicly called Mexicans rapists and drug dealers — a comment that drove away the pageant’s broadcasters.
But the most troubling aspect of his years as the pageant’s owner are the revelations that came later — from him and from the models, including teen girls who were as young as 15 when he deliberately walked into their changing room while they were getting dressed.
As shared by Mariah Billado, Miss Teen Vermont 1997, in a chat with BuzzFeed, she recounts “putting on my dress really quick because I was like, ‘Oh my god, there’s a man in here.’” Four more teenage contestants have confirmed the allegations and backed it up with similar accounts. Former Miss Arizona Tasha Dixon also shared with Los Angeles’ CBS affiliate how Trump barged into the Miss USA dressing room in 2001.
“There was no second to put a robe on or any sort of clothing or anything. Some girls were topless. Others girls were naked. Our first introduction to him was when we were at the dress rehearsal and half-naked changing into our bikinis.”
Glaring accusations, right? Hard to defend, but it’s not like Trump wanted to as, in a 2005 appearance on Howard Stern’s show, he openly bragged about doing exactly what he would be accused of years later.
“I’ll go backstage before a show, and everyone’s getting dressed and ready and everything else. You know, no men are anywhere. And I’m allowed to go in because I’m the owner of the pageant. And therefore I’m inspecting it… Is everyone OK? You know, they’re standing there with no clothes. And you see these incredible-looking women. And so I sort of get away with things like that.”
This doesn’t even begin to cover Trump’s creepiness and his status as a dangerous pervert during his time as the owner of Miss Universe. But since the point of the posts seems to be to check if we have recollections of his past, everyone won with flying colors.
Trump’s current actions might be seen as the whims of a senile man, but he is who he always has been — a deranged man who never stopped abusing his power, dominating and exploiting others, and has absolutely no fear of consequences for he believes himself to be above everyone else, even the law. I would say he is mistaken, but it did take years to finally hold him accountable for the crimes he committed.