Donald Trump during the presidential campaign. Donald Trump for President A derogatory tweet about President Donald Trump sent from McDonald's account on Thursday was the work of hackers, the company said.

The tweet, sent at 9:16 a.m. ET, said: "@realDonaldTrump You are actually a disgusting excuse of a President and we would love to have @BarackObama back, also you have tiny hands."

The message was retweeted more than 600 times before being deleted 25 minutes later. The account had "pinned" the tweet about Trump, meaning it was featured at the top of the brand's Twitter page.

McDonald's first said it had been notified by Twitter that its account had been compromised, without explaining. Late Thursday, the company said "it was hacked by an external source."

The company's account appeared to be sending on-brand messages in the minutes before and after the tweet about Trump.

McDonald's doesn't typically weigh in on politics, though its head of communications is Robert Gibbs, the former White House press secretary and senior campaign adviser to President Barack Obama.

Trump is a known fan of McDonald's food and once starred in a McDonald's commercial.

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