Newly crowned Miss USA gives strong answer about women in combat
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL VIA AP
Finalists Miss District of Columbia, Deshauna Barber, left, and Miss Hawaii, Chelsea Hardin, wait for the results during the 2016 Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas tonight.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL VIA AP
Finalists Miss Hawaii Chelsea Hardin, center, Miss District of Columbia Deshauna Barber, right, and Miss Georgia Emanii Davis, left, stand during the 2016 Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas tonight.
LAS VEGAS » The newly crowned Miss USA is a 26-year-old Army officer from the District of Columbia who gave perhaps the strongest answer of the night when asked about women in combat.
“As a woman in the United States Army, I think … we are just as tough as men. As a commander of my unit, I’m powerful, I am dedicated,” Deshauna Barber said. “Gender does not limit us in the United States.”
The winner of today’s 2016 Miss USA competition held at the T-Mobile Arena off the Las Vegas Strip will go on to compete in the Miss Universe contest.
Barber is the first-ever military member to win Miss USA. In a press conference following the event, the 26-year-old lieutenant from Northeast D.C. said she plans to take a break from the Army Reserves and had already discussed with superiors the possibility of going inactive for a couple of years should she win the title. She said she currently serves two days per month.
“My commander should be watching right now,” Barber said. “Two days a month is definitely not active duty. It is an obligation that I signed up for but they are very flexible in the United States Army Reserves.”
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>> Miss Hawaii USAs Brook Lee (1997), Judy Andersen (1978), Tanya Wilson (1972) and Macel Wilson (1962) all became Miss USA. Lee also won Miss Universe. Andersen was first runner-up at Miss Universe.
>> Miss Hawaii USA Blanche Maa was second runner-up in the Miss USA pageant in 1979.
>> Miss Hawaii 2001 Angela Baraquio and Miss Hawaii 1991 Carolyn Sapp became Miss America.
>> Miss Hawaii 2003 Kanoelani Gibson was first runner-up in the Miss America contest.
>> Miss Hawaii 2010 Jalee Fuselier and Miss Hawaii 1963 Susan Pickering won second runner-up.
Barber said she plans to use the pageant’s spotlight and her title to support veterans’ causes and tackle the issue of suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder among military members. When asked what message she had for the presidential candidates — including former pageant owner and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump — Barber said they should focus more on veterans’ issues, including the backlog at veterans hospitals.
“I think that a lot of the topics that they discuss isn’t as important,” she said in a glittering gold gown.
Barber’s not the only contestant who had to address the election and the Republican candidate, who had a public break-up with the beauty pageant organization last year.
Trump offended Hispanics when he made anti-immigrant remarks in announcing his bid for the White House last June. He at the time co-owned The Miss Universe Organization with NBCUniversal, but the network and the Spanish-language broadcaster Univision quickly cut ties with him, refusing to air the show. Trump sued both networks, eventually settling and selling off the entire pageant to talent management company WME/IMG.
Miss Hawaii, who came in second Sunday night, punted during the question-and-answer segment when asked who she would vote for among the likely presidential candidates, Trump or Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Chelsea Hardin acknowledged that there was no way to correctly answer the question during the beauty pageant. The question was framed with Clinton’s likely status of being the first woman nominated by a major political party in the race for the White House. The 24-year-old college student from Honolulu responded that gender doesn’t matter when deciding the next commander in chief.
The other women in the top five were asked about voting rights, income inequality and the recent death of sports icon Muhammad Ali.
Fan favorite Miss California, Nadia Grace Mejia, had stumbled and paused when answering a question about social and economic inequality. The 20-year-old model, who is the daughter of the 1990s one-hit-wonder singer known as “Rico Suave,” had also talked about suffering from anorexia and wanting to promote body confidence earlier in the show.
The beauty pageant organization also didn’t shy away from addressing another controversy from last year — Miss Universe.
Steve Harvey made a cameo in a video at the start of the Miss USA show to poke fun of the Miss Universe crowning that he botched in December.
Harvey was hosting Miss Universe last year when he mistakenly named Colombia’s Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo the winner before correcting himself on the stage. Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach of the Philippines was then given the crown. Officials later said it was due to human error. The talk show host said he had re-read the card and noticed it said “first runner-up” next to the Colombia contestant’s name before clarifying with producers his mistake.
He took to Twitter after Miss USA tonight to mock himself again by highlighting the similarity of the two locations, the District of Columbia and the country of Colombia.
22 responses to “Newly crowned Miss USA gives strong answer about women in combat”
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Too bad we couldn’t have both contestants to represent our country. Both are equally beautiful physically and intellectually! However, being bias of our preference for our hometown girl, the winner should have been Chelsea Hardin! Congratulations to both!
Congratulations, Chelsea.
Yawn!
Are you kidding? Did you see the third picture with Miss Hawaii standing in the center in her fitted white lace dress that reveals her athletic 5’11” build who was a former college v-ball player from Iolani. Just that picture alone she should have won the competition. Hardin kind of looks like Nicole Sherzinger. Maybe she make a career in Hollywood like Kelly Hu or Tia Carere.
Ok, so Harvey needs glasses.
Barber is not a woman in the US Army. She is a woman in the US Army Reserves. There is a difference. She is a week-end warrior, has never been in combat and knows nothing about what it is like for woman to serve in combat units. Some women have performed heroically in security and police actions lasting a few minutes in combat zones, but that does make women qualified to serve in extended combat operations. Yes, I know there is an infinitely small number of woman who can beat the crap out of any man, but that does not justify allowing woman to serve in the combat arms like infantry, armor and artillery.
Well said.The super delegates have voted.
I suspect most female soldiers will not be so anxious for combat roles when large numbers of them are KIA……
Chelsea Hardin showed grace under fire. The vote question was inappropriate. That’s why we have ballots and voting booths, your vote is secret. She answered intelligently, sincerely and directly. I don’t take her answer as having been “punted”. I take nothing away from Ms. Barber, unfortunately I think Political Correctness had more to do with the decision than it should have. The Reserves are a necessary part of our military but it is not active duty. Chelsea Hardin will go on to much greater things, because she has earned her way to the top.
totally agree – what happened to pulling the question out of the fishbowl? Ms. Hawaii’s question was totally inappropriate and it seems like some of the questions were skewed toward the contestant – is that how it was supposed to be? Rigged! Anyway – congrats to Chelsea Hardin as she nailed the question and represented our state very well with beauty and grace!
I also believe that the competition was rigged. I didn’t feel that Barber should have made it to the top 10 … or maybe even 15. If they had asked the question earlier than later, then … maybe she could have made it to the top 5.
Chelsea is better off by not winning this “beauty” pageant.
Was it necessary to pick the final three? Ask the five the same question to determine the eventual winner.
Well-rounded, insightful and nicely written commentary! Any thoughts running for office? Like the presidential slot?
Until such a time when women in general can run as fast, jump as high, lift, carry and drag as much weight as men, I will question the veracity of her answer.
And equally, until men can carry the babies and handle the labor pains… Women may not, generally, have the potential for upper body strength that men do, but that does not make us less capable, less strong, and, in general, less than men.
Women are indeed commended for carrying a baby for 9 months and giving birth. However your argument is illogical and a red herring argument because it has nothing to do with a woman’s performance, or in this case – lack of performance on the battlefield. When human lives are at stake, politically correct illusions of women in combat fall far short of the best fighting force a nation can muster.
Miss Hawaii definitely got robbed. Chelsea is drop dead gorgeous. She has all what is needed to win Miss Universe. It seems like the Miss USA pageant is a liberal tool to promote their agenda. And that judge’s question about who Chelsea is voting for…….Chelsea should’ve answered that it’s none of their business. That’s why we have an enclosed booth when we vote.
Hahaha, you must be kidding. A beauty pageant is “a liberal tool?” What’s next, kindergarten is a liberal tool? Church? Or is it just anything that displeases you personally?
Were the questions fixed? Not only that, the question to Miss Hawaii was absolutely inappropriate, especially for a platform as public as this was. How one votes is a private choice and a private matter. To side-swipe anyone with this question is wrong. Adding to the issue is the fact that Donald Trump owns Miss USA and Miss Universe. I call foul.
And the liberal media said Miss Hawaii punted on the question. BS!
Trump hasn’t owned the pageant for some years now and when he did, he only owned 25% which isn’t much. Personally, I prefer the Miss America pageant from Atlantic City. Went there as a youngster and was really excited to see all those beautiful girls in person. We could only afford seats in the back of the top balcony and the only thing I could tell is the color of their dresses.
Bert Parks was the emcee and he always did such a great job. When they kicked him out, it was a big mistake. Years later, they put a statue of him on the Boardwalk in front of Convention Hall to make amends for their mistake but, of course, it was too late since he had died years earlier. Watching it on TV is much better than seeing it in person.
Bert Parks I believe was the emcee at Ms. America not Ms. USA.
And I thought Ms. Hawaii should have won. She was grace under fire by those questions.