Donald Trump’s response, posted Friday afternoon, tried to sell the idea that that his early morning tweets were not evidence of an unhinged candidate. | AP Photo Trump defends wee-hour tweet spree: 'At least you know I will be there, awake'

Pushing back against political pundits knocking him for his flurry of tweets in the wee hours of Friday morning attacking former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, Donald Trump again turned to his social media account to write that “at least you know I will be there, awake, to answer the call!”

Trump’s tweet storm, which kicked off at 3:20 a.m. Friday morning, attacked Hillary Clinton for being “duped and used” by Machado, whose verbal abuse by Trump in the late 90s became a proof point for the former secretary of state during Monday’s presidential debate. The Manhattan billionaire called Machado “disgusting” and “a con,” urging his followers to “check out [her] sex tape and past.”


The string of online posts drew quick criticism from David Axelrod, a former top adviser to President Barack Obama, who said Trump “took the bait” by repeatedly engaging on Clinton’s Machado attack. He added that “to get up before dawn, and tweet about Alicia Machado is unfathomable.”

Trump’s response, posted Friday afternoon, tried to sell the idea that his early morning tweets were not evidence of an unhinged candidate, as Axelrod and others have suggested, but instead proof of his readiness to occupy the White House.

“For those few people knocking me for tweeting at three o'clock in the morning, at least you know I will be there, awake, to answer the call!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

Clinton’s campaign also weighed in on Trump’s tweets, asking her followers, “What kind of man stays up all night to smear a woman with lies and conspiracy theories?” After highlighting Trump’s past criticisms of actor Rosie O’Donnell and celebrity Kim Kardashian, a subsequent tweet from Clinton’s account read, “We've heard Donald's insults for years, and his policies reflect this disregard—even contempt—for women.”