HAVERFORD, Pa., Oct. 4 (UPI) — A 15-year-old girl took center stage in Hillary Clinton‘s presidential campaign on Tuesday after asking the candidate a question about the effect Donald Trump‘s criticism of women’s looks has had, prompting an impassioned response.
“At my school, body image is a really big issue for girls my age,” said Brennan Leach, 15, a high school sophomore from suburban Philadelphia. “I see with my own eyes the damage Donald Trump does when he talks about women and how they look.”
How, Leach asked Clinton, could she help girls understand “that they are so much more than just what they look like?”
As the crowd at an event roared its approval for the girl, Clinton shouted: “Thank you! Thank you!”
Asked afterward whether she had been given any help in crafting the question, Leach said her father, a local politician, had helped her form it, though she said she was not sure she would get the chance to ask it.
The Clinton campaign said the questions at the event, which was billed as a “family town hall” moderated by actress Elizabeth Banks and included Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea, were not vetted ahead of time and the campaign had no idea there was a viral moment in the making.
Clinton responded, mocking Trump for critiquing the looks of a former Miss Universe beauty pageant winner.
“My opponent insulted Miss Universe!” she said, eliciting laughter from the crowd. “How do you get more acclaimed than that? But it wasn’t good enough.
“We can’t take any of this seriously anymore. We need to laugh at it. We need to refute it. We need to ignore it. And we need to stand up to it.
“We’re not all going to end up being Miss Universe, I hate to tell you. So let’s be the best we can be. Let’s be proud of who we are.”
