'It was a real problem': Trump criticizes pageant winner's weight after Clinton's debate jab

Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized a former contestant in his Miss Universe pageant for gaining what he viewed as too much weight following the conclusion of the pageant.

Trump's comments came after the first presidential debate Monday, during which Hillary Clinton slammed the Republican presidential nominee for calling 1996 Miss Universe winner Alicia Machado "Miss Piggy" and "Miss Housekeeping." Clinton also pointed out that Machado was supporting her.

In an interview with "Fox and Friends" Tuesday morning, Trump cast Machado as a difficult contestant to work with, said she had a bad attitude, and cited her weight gain as a "problem."

"That person was a Miss Universe person. She was the worst we ever had, the worst, the absolute worst, she was impossible," Trump said. "She was a Miss Universe contestant, and ultimately a winner, who they had a tremendously difficult time with as Miss Universe."

He added: "She was the winner and she gained a massive amount of weight, and it was a real problem."

Tuesday was hardly the first time Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with Machado.

In 1997, Machado told The Washington Post that she virtually starved herself before the pageant in order to slim down. She said she returned to what the American Medical Association would characterize as a healthy weight after the pageant finished.

But the real-estate magnate was displeased, sending her to a gym to work out in front of reporters to solve "her problem."

"When you win a beauty pageant, people don't think you're going to go from 118 to 160 in less than a year, and you really have an obligation to stay in a perfect physical state," Trump said, as Mother Jones has noted.