Margana Wood, from Houston Texas, was asked about how President Donald Trump handled the Charlotteville riots in August. Photo / via Twitter
Margana Wood, from Houston Texas, was asked about how President Donald Trump handled the Charlotteville riots in August. Photo / via Twitter
She may not have walked away with the crown, but Miss Texas has used her moment in the spotlight to smack down President Donald Trump during the Miss America pageant.
During the broadcast, the final contestants were tested with not one but two rounds of questions. Margana Wood, from HoustonTexas, was asked about how President Donald Trump handled the Charlotteville riots in August, which left one woman dead.
"Last month a demonstration of neo-Nazi white supremacists and the KKK in Charlottesville Virgina turned violent and a counter protester was killed," PEOPLE Editor-in-Chief Jess Cagle read from a question card.
"I think that the white supremacist issue ... it was very obvious that it was a terrorist attack," she replied.
"And I think that President Donald Trump should've made a statement earlier addressing the fact, and in making sure all Americans feel safe in this country and that is the number one issue right now."
The recent graduate from the University of Austin, who was awarded fourth runner-up at the annual pageant, was met with cheers and whistles as she finished her statement with 7 seconds to spare.
Last month, President Trump faced criticism over his response to the white nationalist rally in Virginia that turned deadly.
The riot left one woman dead and more than 30 injured after a neo-nazi drove a car through a crowd of anti-racism protesters in Charlottesville.
Trump condemned the violence, but was roundly criticised for waiting too long to address it and then failing to explicitly condemn the "white supremacist" marchers behind the atrocity.
"I've condemned Neo-Nazis. I've condemned many different groups. But not all of those people were Neo-Nazis, believe me," President Trump said following the demonstration.
"You had many people in that group other than Neo-Nazis and white nationalists. "The press has treated them absolutely unfairly. You also had some very fine people on both sides."
Miss Texas participates during Miss America 2018 - Show Me Your Shoes Parade. Photo / Getty Images
The Miss America pageant was taken out by Miss North Dakota, Cara Mund, who also had a few words for the President.
In one of her onstage interviews, Mund said Trump, a Republican, was wrong to withdraw the US from the climate accord aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.
"It's a bad decision," she said. "There is evidence that climate change is existing and we need to be at that table."
Miss Mund, 23, topped a field of 51 contestants to win the crowd in the New Jersey seaside resort, where most of the 97 Miss Americas have been selected.
Miss North Dakota Cara Mund reacts after being named Miss America. Photo / AP
She said she wants to see more women elected to all levels of government.
The first runner up was Miss Missouri Jennifer Davis; second runner up was Miss New Jersey Kaitlyn Schoeffel; third runner up was Miss District of Columbia Briana Kinsey.
