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Donald Trump Steps Up Attacks On Former Miss Universe But She Chooses Not To Answer Him Directly

BURBANK (CBSLA.com)   —  Presidential hopeful Donald Trump stepped up his attacks on former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, but at an event in Burbank Saturday she chose not to mention him by name.

Instead, she thanked those in her corner.

"Thank you very much for all the people that are supporting me right now," she said.

That's the closest Machado came to talking about Trump at Metropolitan Fashion Week.

KCAL9's Cristy Fajardo was there and said  her friend -- the event's director -- didn't talk about Trump either.

She asked Eduardo Khawam, "Do you have any comment about what Trump has said about your friend?"

"Who?" says Khawam.

Fajardo asks again, "Donald Trump?"

"Who?" he says, this time pretending not to hear, before smiling.

On Friday Trump revived his online feud with Machado with a flurry of pre-dawn tweets. He called her "disgusting," told stories about how she was difficult and gained a lot of weight after winning the crown. He  also told his followers to check out "her sex tape." (Fact-checkers have been unable to establish the existence of a sex tape.)

Last week, Machado made international headlines after she was mentioned by Hillary Clinton during the debate.

Clinton said, "He called this woman Miss Piggy,  then he called her Miss Housekeeping" because she is Latina.

After the debate, Trump fired back: "She was the worst we ever had. The worst. The absolute worst. She was impossible. She gained a massive amount of weight, and it was a real problem."

Alicia Machado Campaigns For Hillary Clinton
Alicia Machado campaigns for Hillary Clinton on August 20, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images)

The current Miss California USA, Nadia Mejia, also attended Fashion Week. Trump's words didn't sit well with her. And she said she was looking forward to meeting with Machado.

"Unfortunately, with Donald Trump, he says some things that are really hurtful," Mejia said,  adding that hurtful comments about her own weight once caused her to become anorectic.

And although on Saturday night Machado didn't address Trump's latest remarks, in an earlier statement she called his comments, "Cheap lies with bad intentions."

During the debate, Clinton also mentioned Machado has become a US citizen and planned to vote -- and not for Trump -- clearly.

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