Miss Alabama slams Donald Trump during pageant Q&A

Dylan Stableford
·Senior Writer
Updated

Miss Alabama, Meg McGuffin, slammed Donald Trump during the Miss America pageant on Sunday, saying the Republican Party should be “terrified” the real estate mogul and former “Celebrity Apprentice” star is the frontrunner in the race for the 2016 GOP nomination.

“I think Donald Trump is an entertainer,” McGuffin said during ABC’s live broadcast when asked by judge Taya Kyle why she thought Trump was leading in the polls.

“I think he says what’s on a lot of people’s minds, but I think that the Republican Party should be absolutely terrified of all the attention that he is taking from incredible candidates like Jeb Bush and Chris Christie who could absolutely do the job of president of the United States,” the 22-year-old Auburn University graduate continued. “And if I were a Republican, I would absolutely be terrified of that. Thank you.”

Betty Cantrell, Miss Georgia, was crowned Miss America 2016 on Sunday. McGuffin was named fourth runner-up.

Trump — who recently became sole owner of the rival Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants — has yet to respond to McGuffin from his preferred public platform: Twitter.

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McGuffin said the GOP “should be absolutely terrified” of all the attention Trump is getting. (Photos: Wayne Parry/AP; Susan Walsh/AP)

McGuffin’s Donald dig wasn’t the only highlight from the competition’s Q&A portion. Cantrell appeared to waver when asked if she thought New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was a cheater for his role in the so-called deflate-gate scandal.

“Did he cheat? Um, that’s a really good question. I’m not sure,” Cantrell said. “I think I’d have to be there to see the ball and feel it and make sure it was deflated or not deflated. But if there was a question there, then, yes, I think he cheated. If there was any question to be had, I think that he definitely cheated and that he should have been suspended for that. That’s not fair.”

Cantrell also appeared to stumble — literally — during the evening-gown segment.

Last week, Trump announced he had settled his $500 million lawsuit against Univision, which was filed in July after the Spanish-language broadcaster refused to air the Miss USA pageant in the wake of his controversial comments about Mexican immigrants.