Latino press rails on Trump over Miss Universe

Latin American newspapers are ripping into Donald Trump for calling a former Miss Universe from Venezuela fat. 

Peru’s El Comercio labeled Wednesday “The day Donald Trump humiliated Alicia Machado,” while Costa Rica’s La Nacion wrote, “Alicia Machado: Hillary Clinton’s best dart against Trump.”

Argentina’s Clarín took a similar tack with the headline: “The Latina ex-Miss Universe, Alicia Machado, a nightmare for Trump.”

Mexico’s El Universal simply quoted one of Trump’s insults in its headline, ”Donald Trump told me ‘you look fat,’ accuses Alicia Machado,” while Venezuela’s El Universal, a paper from the beauty queen’s home country, declared, “On Clinton’s side, Alicia Machado takes vengeance of Trump,” 

Spanish-language outlets in the United States are also playing up the story. 

“Alicia Machado’s weight sneaks into presidential debate,” read a headline about the former pageant queen on the website of Spanish-language TV network Univision.

Another Univisión story detailed Machado’s anti-Trump activism. 

“Alicia Machado to Trump: We can’t risk having a person as violent as him in the White House,” read the headline.

The California daily La Opinion ran a series of internet memes mocking the incident.

Trump’s barbs could be a problem for the Republican presidential nominee, who polls show is losing support among women to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. 

Trump is also trailing Clinton among Hispanic voters, so the controversy surrounding Machado could be doubly damaging.

Trump publicly berated Machado after she won the 1996 Miss Universe pageant, which was owned by the billionaire businessman at the time. 

Machado gained weight while sporting the title, leading Trump to nickname her “Miss Piggy.” 

She also says Trump mocked her Latin American origin, dubbing her “Miss Housekeeping” — allegations Clinton brought up at Monday’s debate in what appeared to be a calculated attempt to get under his skin.   

Machado’s story first regained attention in May, when ”Inside Edition” ran a segment on her experiences with the Republican nominee and in which she announced she had become a U.S. citizen.

Clinton tweeted her support for Machado at the time as the former beauty queen transitioned from pageants and acting to political activism. 

Congratulations on becoming a U.S. citizen, Alicia. Enjoy casting that vote. https://t.co/jewmwZrrOA

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) May 20, 2016