Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich joined in on Donald Trump’s body-shaming comments about a former Miss Universe, telling a meeting of D.C. Republicans that she gained “60 pounds” the year she was crowned and dismissing the story as a media “trap.”
The Daily Mail reported Wednesday that Gingrich brought up former Miss Universe Alicia Machado during his speech to those gathered at a “Spirit of Lincoln” dinner in Washington D.C.. Gingrich accused Machado of gaining 60 pounds during her tenure as Miss Universe, seeming to agree with Trump that she violated her contract by gaining the weight.
“You are not supposed to gain 60 pounds the year you’re Miss Universe,” he told the room, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
Gingrich then went on to repeat unflattering news stories that have circulated since Hillary Clinton brought up Machado at the debate, including that Machado was once accused of threatening a judge.
“So Hillary went back into the years and she found this girl – this was many years ago – and found the girl and talked about her like she was Mother Teresa, and it wasn’t quite this way,” he told the group, according to The Daily Mail.
“This is actually a sympathetic, sincere girl scout of extraordinary decency and great nobility who was really battered by Donald Trump 20 years ago and therefore we should not vote for Donald Trump despite everything else,” Gingrich added sarcastically, according to the site.
The former House speaker went on to call Clinton’s invoking of Machado a “trap” and blamed the media for continuing to cover the story. But Gingrich said he was not convinced the Machado story would be the one to sink Trump.
“By the end of the week, he’ll be ahead again,” Gingrich said, according to The Daily Mail.
