Miss America Differs So Much From Other Pageants

There are a lot of pageants and it's sometimes hard to keep track of which one is which. So, was the Miss America 2018 pageant ever owned by Donald Trump? He was once quite affiliated with the pageant world.

But, Donald Trump had absolutely no ties to Miss America, and he never has. That distinction belongs to Miss USA, which is a little different than Sunday's Miss America. You see, Trump used to own the Miss Universe Organization (which also puts on the annual Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants), before he sold it to WME/IMG back in 2015. So now that he's sold it, think of it this way: Basically, you're in the free and clear to watch any beauty pageant you want without having to worry about accidentally supporting Trump. (And, in case you're wondering, Miss America is also not the pageant that Steve Harvey memorably bungled the winning announcement at, either. Yep, that's also Miss USA).

Mixing up Miss America and Miss USA is understandable. And, even more confusing is the fact that the ever-popular Miss Congeniality features a fictional Miss United States competition! Still, there are a few key differences between the two popular pageants (the real life ones, that is). First off, Miss America features a talent portion (which makes up a significant 35 percent of the final scoring), while Miss USA does not. Then there's the fact that Miss USA actually qualifies the winner to go on and compete in the worldwide Miss Universe pageant. The final main difference stems from the fact that Miss America is first and foremost a scholarship foundation — "the nation's largest provider of scholarship assistance to young women," according to its website.

So, what do you think? Now that you're absolutely positive that Donald Trump has absolutely nothing to do with the Miss America pageant (and never did), does it mean you'll be tuning in? Between the talent portion (remember how Savvy Shields clinched the title last year with a jazz dance set to Smash's "They Just Keep Moving the Line"?) and the fun celebrity judges, it should be quite the show. You may not want to miss it.