Alicia Machado
Clinton is known for having a herd of famous surrogates supporting her campaign. She has strategically picked allies with compelling stories to target Trump and relate to voters, especially women. Due to the recent Trump scandal where he talked about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women during a 2005 conversation, Clinton has taken this opportunity and exploited it for all that it’s worth. Alicia Machado, the first winner of Miss Universe after Trump purchased the program, is one of Clinton’s “enthusiastic allies with a compelling story.” Clinton’s campaign claims they strategically waited to tap into the Machado story knowing that Trump’s treatment of women would arise as an issue on it’s own. According to the Washington Post, “Emails released by WikiLeaks show that the Clinton campaign was aware of Machado’s story in December 2015,” but yet she waited to release the “October Surprise” during a time of weakness for Trump to evoke drama.
Machado’s abusive treatment from Trump started in 1997, which is not that long ago realistically. Trump “fat-shamed” her on national television and later on referred to her as “Miss Piggy” after she gained some weight. Crooks & Liars claims, “This is harassment. Workplace harassment. Sexual harassment. It caused Machado to suffer from eating disorders for years afterward.” Trump abused his power as her employer, causing her to become humiliated and physically damaged. Many voters are perceiving this behavior as carrying through to his presidency if he gets elected. Voters are worried he would mistreat his White House employees and abuse his power to settle every imagined grudge, proving yet again that he can never, ever be given that power.
The most important pa
rt of the Machado case, is that Trump cannot deny that it ever happened, along with the earlier mentioned 2005 incident because of tangible proof of the truth. This really displays the character of Trump and those running his campaign. If they can’t counter the truth, they’ll just try and distract everyone with meaningless lies. After Machado’s weight gain, she was photographed with Trump working out at a gym. He commented how she loves to eat and mocked her for her Latino accent, calling her “Miss Housekeeping.” Trump’s campaign tries to cover up the story with an obvious lie explaining how he encouraged her to go to the gym to benefit her personal health when really he just didn’t want to be looked at as associating with fat women. Having a president that is constantly trying to avoid the truth instead of claiming his faults and enacting a change is terrifying to citizens. Machado has become a powerful surrogate for Clinton and because of her claim, over eleven more women victimized by Trump’s behavior have come forward with compelling stories impling his false morals. Is this really the kind of president you want being a role model to our country?