NEW JERSEY, U.S. (Reuters)– 23-year-old Cara Mund won the annual Miss America pageant on Sunday (September 10) after impressing judges with her dancing and her answer to a question about the U.S. pulling out of the Paris climate accord.
“I do believe it’s a bad decision. Once we reject that, we take ourselves out of the negotiation table and that’s something that we really need to keep in mind,” said Mund about President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the agreement.
Mund, a native of Bismarck, North Dakota, graduated from Brown University and plans on attending law school.
The first runner-up in the competition was Miss Missouri, Jennifer Davis
The pageant, which started out with 51 contestants, who represented all 50 states and the District of Columbia, is gradually winnowed down to five finalists after a series of judged portions including an evening gown, bathing suit, and talent competition.
Mund’s talent was a self-choreographed jazz dancing routine set to Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.”
One non-finalist, Miss Louisiana, Laryssa Bonacquisti, set social media abuzz by performing a ventriloquist act where she yodeled along with two puppets.
Sunday’s live two-hour broadcast from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ marked the organization’s 97th anniversary.
Mund will receive a six-figure salary, expenses for her one year reign and a $50,000 scholarship.