Question about fair pay trips up Miss USA contestant Marissa Powell

Miss Utah is the latest beauty queen to trip on American television - not over her gown, but during the interview segment.

Asked about fair pay for women at the Miss USA pageant on Sunday night, Marissa Powell gave a rambling, awkwardly worded answer that included several long pauses and the phrase "create education better".

The cringe-inducing response was getting lots of buzz on Monday. As a video of the interview racked up hundreds of thousands of views, pageant co-owner Donald Trump told the haters on Twitter that anyone can lose their train of thought.

The question was a bit of a head scratcher in itself.

"A recent report shows that in 40 per cent of American families with children, women are the primary earners, yet they continue to earn less than men. What does this say about society?" judge Nene Leakes asked.

"I think we can relate this back to education, and how we are continuing to try to strive … to …," said Powell, 21, appearing to lose her way. After a long pause, she continued: "… figure out how to create jobs right now. That is the biggest problem. And I think, especially the men are … seen as the leaders of this, and so we need to see how to create education better. So that we can solve this problem. Thank you."