Paulina Takes on The Donald

Paulina Vega vs. Donald Trump

When multi-billonare Donald Trump insulted Mexican immigrants during his Republican presidential candidacy announcement by branding them drug traffickers and rapists, he must have expected blowback from business and media. But he probably didn't expect criticism from the winner of the Miss Universe pageant, which Trump half owns, Colombian Paulina Vega.

�When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending the best,� Trump said. "They're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime. They're rapists and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards and they're telling us what we're getting."

But Vega dared to bite the hand that feeds her, calling Trump's comments "unjust and hurtful," but not renouncing her Miss Universe title. Vega argued that the Miss Universe pageant organization is independent of Trump. However, NBC television, which owns the other half, saw things differently, deciding to cut its business relations with Trump.

Trump replied by calling Vega a 'hypocrite.'

Vega and Trump in happier times.

Trump's insults of Mexican immigrants are absurd, of course. (And I bet that he used 'Mexican' as shorthand for Latin Americans in general.) While they include criminals, the overwhelming majority are hard-working people who are willing to do work which native-born Americans are not. And, I'd be willing to bet, that Trump's construction projects (many named after himself) employed many Mexican immigrants, whether directly or thru subcontractors.

Trump, whose mother immigrated to the U.S. from Scotland, has been accused of making racist and racially-charged comments about Hispanics and African Americans in the past, according to his Wikipedia entry.

On the other hand, Trump is correct that Vega is being hypocritical by keeping a crown awarded by a man whom she criticizes. Yet, her interest in not cutting short her year of fame and glamour, as superficial as it is, is understandable. Undoubtedly, she worked and dreamed for years about becoming a 'Miss.'

But if Vega did renounce the crown on a principled defense of Latin Americans, she'd gain a much more enduring fame than the crown itself can supply.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogot� Bike Tours