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Madeline Collins, Miss West Virginia, shows up for the third and final night of the preliminary competition at the Miss America contest in Atlantic City on Friday. (Wayne Parry / AP)
Things become political in the Miss America contest.
Asked Friday, last night of the preliminary competition, Madeline Collins, Miss West Virginia, was named leader of the free world.
"Donald Trump is the biggest problem facing our country today," Collins said. As captured in video Collins added, "Unfortunately, it has caused a lot of division in our country and, as long as we can not trust him and the choices he makes for our country, we can not unite."
Since each participant had only 20 seconds to answer, Collins did not go into details. When the Miss America organization announced in June that a "live interactive session with judges" would replace the swimsuit competition – after months of controversy over email exchanges in which leaders denigrate competitors – she described her accomplishments and goals in life, and how she will use her talents, passion, and ambition to accomplish Miss America's work.
Gretchen Carlson, a 1989 Miss America winner who became a television commentator and current president of the band, said in a statement that Miss America "would represent a new generation of women leaders focused on scholarship, social impact, talent and empowerment. We are living a cultural revolution in our country with women who have the courage to stand up and make their voices heard on many issues.
[Stripped of bikinis, Miss America teeters on. For now, anyway.]
In the end, Collins lost part of the contest interview with Miss Massachusetts, Gabriela Taveras, who asked a question about how Americans traveling abroad should interact with foreigners. We should let them know that "we Americans support them and we are here to help them," she said, according to the Associated Press.
But Collins' response captured a new evolutionary spirit of competition, following another important reaction of the day before. On Thursday, when asked how the NFL should handle kneeling players during the national anthem, Miss Virginia, Emili McPhail, stressed that the protests are not anti-patriotic, but "absolutely police brutality."
"Kneeling during the national anthem is absolutely a right you have, to defend what you believe in and make the right decision for you," she said. After the contest, McPhail added, "I said that defending what you believe in is the most important thing you can do, and that's what I did. I am very happy to have this moment, to be honest, because it is not always easy. "
The protests of the NFL have angered President Trump, who once owned the Miss Universe contest, a separate organization. Although the President has not yet responded to the response of either competitor, Collins' reprimand for Trump takes on added importance as he comes from a trustworthy and conservative state often referred to as the "heartland of Trump".
Read more:
Miss America candidate questioned about NFL protests wins prize for answer
"Miss America should be humiliated": Cara Mund, before giving up the crown
It's not just bikinis: in the battle for Miss America's future
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