A day after U.S. President Donald Trump registered a minor win in a defamation case filed by Stormy Daniels aka Stephanie Clifford against him, the president targeted her in a tweet.

He called the adult film star "horseface" after a federal judge dismissed her defamation suit against him.

"Great, now I can go after Horseface and her 3rd rate lawyer in the Great State of Texas," Trump wrote in a tweet that also referred to a news article about the suit being tossed.

"She will confirm the letter she signed! She knows nothing about me, a total con!" Trump added, referencing to the non-disclosure agreement Daniels agreed with to keep silent on a brief affair she had with Trump. This was also the first time Trump mentioned Daniels by name since news broke of his affair with her.

Trump’s use of an insulting word, alluding to Daniels as an ‘ugly’ looking woman goes back to the multiple times he has hit out at a woman’s looks – rarely good, mostly bad, when referring to them.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday evening, Trump did not back down from derisively nicknaming Daniels “horseface” hours earlier. He said “you can take it any way you want,” when asked if it was appropriate to insult a woman’s appearance.

Stormy Daniels was quick to respond to Trump’s tweet, citing what she called Trump's "shortcomings" and referring to him as "Tiny."

In the dismissed California lawsuit that started this twitter spat, Daniels claimed a tweet in which Trump said she fabricated a threat to her had defamed her, making her out to be a liar. The judge said the tweet was protected by free speech laws as “rhetorical hyperbole”.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 17, 2018 05:03 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).