Miss Texas Margana Wood
Miss Texas Margana Wood reacts after advancing from the swimsuit component of the Miss America competition in Atlantic City, New Jersey U.S. September 10, 2017. Reuters/Mark Makela

Miss Texas from Miss America 2017 pageant took a swipe at US President Donald Trump on Sunday, and the audience cheered her for it. Margana Wood may not have won the prestigious title, but she won the public’s heart with her rather candid answer.

Wood, a 22-year-old graduate from the University of Texas, did not mince words during the Q&A portion of the pageant. She was asked by judge Jess Cagle, People magazine editor-in-chief, what she thought about Trump’s comments in the aftermath of the Charlottesville protest in August.

The protest in the Virginia state turned violent, with one counter-protester killed when she was run over by a white nationalist. Trump said there were “very fine people on both sides,” adding that the blame should be shared by both.

While Trump refused to condemn the neo-Nazis outright, Wood was more direct in her answer. In less than 30 seconds, she eloquently stated what her president could have done to make the country feel safe.

“I think that the white supremacist issue, it was very obvious that it was a terrorist attack,” she answered. “And I think that President Donald Trump should have made a statement earlier addressing the fact and making sure all Americans feel safe in this country. That is the number one issue right now.”

Wood received a resounding cheer from the audience as well as online. As commenters have claimed, her answer was more commendable than Trump’s. Her answer was apparently even more impressive because it’s coming from someone in a “Red” state, or a mostly Republican-voting state.

Wood finished fourth runner-up in the pageant. The crown went to Miss North Dakota, Cara Mund, who seemed to be not a fan of the president’s decisions as well.

In one of her interviews, the 23-year-old beauty queen said Trump was wrong to pull the US from the Paris climate agreement. “It’s a bad decision,” she said simply.

Miss Missouri Jennifer Davis was the first runner-up, followed by Miss New Jersey Kaitlyn Schoeffel and Miss District of Columbia Briana Kinsey as second and third runner-up respectively.

Watch Miss Texas Margana Wood’s Q&A

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