Donald Trump can’t leave Miss Universe alone

Presidential nominee has referred to her
as “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping”

Donald Trump is doubling down on his attacks on a former Miss Universe. 

Trump unleashed a series of tweets early Friday saying that rival Hillary Clinton had shown bad judgment in using Alicia Machado “as a paragon of virtue.”

In one tweet, Trump said: “Did Crooked Hillary help disgusting (check out sex tape and past) Alicia M become a U.S. citizen so she could use her in the debate?”

He offered no proof that Clinton had a role in Machado’s citizenship. The “sex tape” reference was apparently about risque footage circulating online of Machado from when she appeared on a Spanish reality show. 

At Monday’s debate, Clinton cited Trump’s past references to Machado as “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping” as examples of Trump’s disrespectful comments about women. 

Also, Trump is warning voters that a Hillary Clinton victory would bring her husband’s sex scandal back to the White House. 

Injecting Clinton’s marital troubles into the 2016 campaign is Trump’s latest effort to bounce back from Monday night’s widely panned debate performance. In contrast, Clinton has delivered a mostly positive message in the days since her debate performance re-energized her candidacy. 

Clinton is stressing that her plans will solve the kind of kitchen-sink problems facing American families the high cost of childcare, mounting student debt and unpaid family leave. 

Trump is promising lower taxes and “jobs, jobs, jobs,” but he has also intensified the dire warnings and personal attacks that have defined his outsider presidential bid.