Beauty queens are in the eye of the beholder. And for Donald Trump, Carrie Prejean will always be a beauty queen.

Trump, the owner of the Miss Universe Organization and thus decider of Miss California’s fate, resolved today to let the scandal-scarred and contract-violating titleholder keep her crown, over yesterday’s urgings of Golden State pageant officials.

“Carrie will remain Miss California,” the Donald announced at a press conference this morning, adding that “we are in the 21st century.”

“We’ve really studied these photos,” he said. “We’ve made a determination that everything we’ve seen to date that she’s done—some were very beautiful, some were risqué—the pictures taken were acceptable, were fine, and in some cases were lovely pictures.”

The aesthetic argument is one Trump returned to several times over the course of explaining his decision.

“If Carrie weren’t so beautiful, this never would have come up,” he said. “Carrie is totally beautiful. And her answer, because of that, took on more importance. Unfortunately, that’s the way the press works. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

As for Prejean, she took time out to give thanks to her own holy trinity: Trump and Miss California officials, her fans, and—no acceptance speech is complete without him—God.

“I would like to thank the thousands of Americans who have sent letters, sent emails, messages…I cannot count the number of fan mail I have received in the past three weeks of people expressing their support to me,” she said, choking back tears. “They have confided in me that they have found hope and inspiration in my story.

“Most importantly, I would like to thank God for trusting me with this large task and giving me the strength to stand by my beliefs.”

And while she dismissed the recent spate of leaked topless photos as one-off poses, Photoshopped snaps and otherwise unknowing outtakes from a surf magazine shoot, she did spend some time explaining the other alleged violation of her Miss California contract—lobbying against same-sex marriages.

“Being at the center of a media firestorm is not something I had planned or signed up for,” she said. “Let me be clear, I am not an activist, nor do I have a personal agenda.

“I was thrown into this firestorm from the time I was asked the question on stage.”

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