A Māori beauty queen who competed at Miss Universe under Donald Trump’s ownership says she was cautious around the controversial US Presidential candidate, and only spoke Māori to him to avoid his “sleazy ways”.
Kateao Nehua-Jackson-Arcand (Ngati Wai, Ngati Kahungunu) was 19 when she represented New Zealand at the 2001 international pageant in Puerto Rico. She says she knew of the billionaire’s misogyny and womanizing before her arrival, and she tried to steer clear of him.
“I was already aware of Donald’s sleazy ways so I didn’t want him and my thoughts of him getting in the way of my own goals and success,” she says about Trump, who owned the Miss Universe pageant from 1996 to 2014.
A 2005 recording surfaced this month showing the tycoon bragging about sexually harassing women. Since its release, a spate of women have accused Trump of sexual assault, and several former pageant contestants have claimed Trump walked into their dressing room while they were changing. Critics say the controversy could cost Trump the US presidency.
Nehua-Jackson-Arcand, who is a fluent Māori speaker, says whenever Trump visited the pageant “girls hung around him like flies.”
“I didn’t know if it was for his fame but I know I didn’t care for it.”
The former Miss New Zealand was forced to have a personal meeting with Trump as it was part of the pageant’s requirement. She chose to speak only Māori to him to deflect attention away from herself.
“He shook my hand and asked if I could speak English. I told him I could but continued to speak in Māori. He was polite but he did brush me off and paid more attention to those who could speak English.”
During the first presidential debate in September, Trump came under fire after his opponent and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton spoke about how he demeaned former Miss Universe Alicia Machado of Venezuela. He called her 'Miss Piggy' and 'Miss Housekeeping'– a term he used because the beauty queen was Latina.
Nehua-Jackson-Arcand, who is the daughter of Te Reo advocates Syd Jackson and Deidre Nehua, grew up in Auckland. She now lives in Canada with her husband and five children. She will be following the US elections with great interest, with voters having until November 8 to make their decision.
“When I heard Trump was running for president I thought it was a joke,” she says. “I do like his slogan ‘Make America Great Again’. America was at its greatest when First Nations were abundant and minding their own business. So if you want to make America great again, you will need to involve the First Nations.”