Walters Speaks Out On Rosie-Trump Feud
Barbara Walters, the creator of ABC's "The View," commented on the ongoing feud between her co-host Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump.
In a statement given to The ShowBuzz Thursday, Walters said: "Donald Trump is a personal friend of mine and has been a good friend to 'The View' for many years. I'm sorry there is friction between Donald and Rosie. That said, I do not regret for one moment my choice to hire Rosie O'Donnell as the moderator of 'The View'. I certainly hope and expect that this tempest will pass quickly."
After Thursday's "View," Trump phoned into "Good Day LA" and said: "Let me tell you something, Barbara Walters is a good friend of mine, she cannot stand Rosie O'Donnell." He added that he doesn't plan on appearing on the ABC program again.
Trump didn't stop there. He continued to bash O'Donnell on the FOX News Channel and "Larry King Live."
He responded to Walter's statement by saying, "Well, I can tell you for a fact that that's not what Barbara told me. Barbara is not a fan of Rosie. She's embarrassed by Rosie. She doesn't like Rosie. And I guess she can't say that publicly. But trust me, Larry, that's what she told me over the phone."
Walters, who did not appear on Thursday's show, is out of the country according to a rep.
The Trump-O'Donnell feud began Wednesday after O'Donnell slammed the real estate mogul for not dethroning the troubled Miss USA, Tara Conner. As for why O'Donnell attacked him in the first place, Trump said Thursday, "I think she's very attracted to Miss USA, so I think she wanted to put the crown on her head herself."
Photos: Rosie O'Donnell
Trump also described O'Donnell as a "little clam" because she was tight lipped about the controversy on the show.
"(Rosie's) been a loser for a long time, and extremely unattractive woman both inside and out and, you know, you have to attack people when they attack you, especially when they attack you with lies … I never went bankrupt," he said. "I never went bankrupt. She said that I went bankrupt and I had many friends that did in the early '90s when the real estate market was collapsing. I never went bankrupt, she said I went bankrupt. She's got huge legal liability and she knows it."
Trump said he is "certainly thinking really strongly" about filing a suit against "The View" co-host.
O'Donnell restrained herself from bashing Trump on her Thursday morning broadcast.
She made light of the feud and pointed to her wife, Kelli, in the audience and said, "I was afraid to leave her home in case someone with a comb-over came and stole her from me," which prompted wild laughter.
O'Donnell made short comments later, at which the audience laughed. "We'll be back with more 'hot topics,' " she said during a commercial break, "and not the ones you think I'm going to talk about."
Trump said the reason O'Donnell hardly mentioned the feud on the show Thursday was, "because I fight back," he said.
By Amy Bonawitz