In fact, Trump made a huge spectacle of Machados weight gain after she won the competition in 1996. During a February 1997 interview with Howard Stern uncovered by BuzzFeed News, Trump laughed as Stern viciously mocked Machado for gaining weight. Trump called her eating machine and said she ate a lot of everything.
Stern introduces the topic by saying, The Miss Universe, it turns out, the woman who won last year, blows up to a fat pig. I mean, like obese.
Trump can be heard chuckling in the background as Stern recapped the events.
You whipped this fat slob into shape, Stern continued. I dont know how you did it. I see all these diet plans, everything else. God bless you. You whipped her into shape, and you held the whole pageant together. Congratulations.
Well, that was an amazing one, Trump responded. She went from 118 to almost 170.
And you got her right down again to 118, didnt you?, asked Stern.
Well, shes going to be there, replied Trump. Shes probably 145 or something.
Trump and Stern said Machado looked beautiful when she won. Right, said Trump. She gained about 55 pounds in a period of nine months. She was like an eating machine.
What does a girl eat in less than a year to gain [55 pounds]? Stern asked.
I think she ate a lot of everything, answered Trump.
Trump boasted of how he turned Machados weight loss into public scene. It has become a major event, he said.
Trump also told Newsweek at the time, Weve tried diet, spa, a trainer, incentives. Forget it, the way shes going, shed eat the whole gymnasium.
Trump even invited reporters to the gym to watch Machado exercise, hoping to turn Machados attempts to lose weight into a big event, he would say. You really have an obligation to stay in a perfect physical state, Trump added.
Machado told the Washington Post at the time she was caught by surprise about reporters being present. I asked him to please send me to a trainer or a nutritionist or something because I needed some orientation, and he sends me to a gym in New York, she said. When I get there, there are 80 reporters waiting to watch me sweat. I thought that was in very bad taste.
In his book, the Art of the Comeback, Trump shot back, aggressively at the beauty queen, calling her plumply.
I could just see Alicia Machado, the current Miss Universe, sitting there plumply. God, what problems I had with this woman, Trump wrote in his 1997 book. First, she wins. Second, she gains 50 pounds. Third, I urge the committee not to fire her. Fourth, I go to the gym with her, in a show of support. Final act: She trashes me in The Washington Post after I stood by her the entire time. Whats wrong with this picture? Anyway, the best part about the evening was the knowledge that next year, she would no longer be Miss Universe.
