Oklahoma’s Olivia Jordan was crowned Miss USA 2015 on July 12’ 2015, amidst the whirlpool of controversies focusing on Donald Trump’s remark and the after effects. Several judges, guests and hosts backed out of the pageant after the real estate tycoon described some migrants from Mexico to the United States as drug-runners and rapists while running his candidacy for the Republican nomination.
26 years old Jordan, who is an actress and a graduate from Boston University won after cleverly answering a question about the nation's next hot-button issue. The beauty queen has been busy giving interviews and attending shows and events. During an interview with Reuters on Wednesday (July 15), Jordan did not shy away from the controversy surrounding Donald Trump. "I respect Trump as a businessman. He has created a great fortune for himself. He has really built an empire and that's impressive. I'm impressed by people who hustle really hard and can have great success in life. And that's something that I aspire to do. I aspire to work very hard and have great success. I hope that I can really use that to give back to the world," she said.
Jordan also said, "I think that Donald Trump running for president is unrelated to what the pageant is about. I think that we got caught in a political crossfire and it is what it is. He has the right to have opinions and he's talking about issues that are important. Immigration is an important issue. It is something that we should be talking about and it's good to have those kinds of conversations. I think that the pageant ultimately stands for diversity. It's been standing for that for the past 64 years. It has brought so many cultures together through the Miss Universe Organization and has given women of all cultures, of all backgrounds an opportunity to shine. And I think that this year in Baton Rouge, it was the epitome of that and I was grateful to be part of it."
Still glowing like a sunshine from her win, Jordan described what it felt like to win the title of Miss USA.
"I'm grateful that it was me. I'm grateful it was my year and that whatever I did, that the judges saw it. I truly was focused on living in the moment and enjoying the experience. So I had the best time on that stage. I really did. I had so much fun and I knew that at the end of the night I was going to hug my family and they were going to be proud of me and that was enough for me in that moment. Obviously, I wanted the crown, 100 percent. That was why I was in this process because I wanted this title and I wanted everything that comes along with it. And I was so grateful that it all worked out. It's crazy."
Jordan said that during her reign as Miss USA, she will call attention to the Alzheimer’s disease and the terror of child prostitution. Jordan will now represent the United States at the Miss Universe 2015 pageant.