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Barbara Backs Rosie, Dumps on Trump
Just when it looked like all was finally quiet on the Rosie O'Donnell-Donald Trump battlefront, here comes Barbara Walters' bomb.
The View matron, who returned to the airwaves Wednesday after a lengthy vacation, took time out to clear up several misconceptions about O'Donnell and Trump's headline-grabbing war of words, lowlights of which included O'Donnell calling Trump a "pimp" and Trump deeming O'Donnell a "degenerate."
Walters said she took particular umbrage over Trump's oft-repeated declaration that Walters had confided to him she regretted hiring O'Donnell.
"While I am clearing things up, Donald Trump also said that I am not happy with my decision to bring Rosie O'Donnell to this table. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have never regretted, nor do I now, the hiring of Rosie O'Donnell.
"She has brought a new vitality to the show, and the ratings prove it."
As do, Walters pointed out, the critical acclaim for O'Donnell's new gig, glowing reviews of which the View exec producer proceeded to quote.
The former 20/20 anchor also proceeded to read a statement provided to her by ABC, hoping to clear up the state of the Donald's finances, which became a boiling point in the feud and the subject of threatened litigation by Trump.
"Just to clarify things, and I quote: Donald Trump has never filed for personal bankruptcy," Walters said. "Several of his casino companies have filed for business bankruptcies. They are out of bankruptcy now. That's the end of the quote."
The unlikely feud kicked off last month, after Trump, who owns the Miss USA Pageant, held a press conference to announce that reigning champ Tara Connor would enter rehab and keep her crown despite her less than exemplary extracurricular activities.
O'Donnell reacted to the announcement on air, saying Trump, after cheating on two wives and filing for bankruptcy, had no right milking publicity out of the situation or acting as the "moral compass" for a 20-year-old woman.
Cue the name-calling.
Trump quickly took to Larry King Live, claiming it was "lies" like O'Donnell's that got the U.S. into the war against Iraq; to the New York Post he called her "a fat slob," a "mental midget" and a "lowlife"; and on Good Day L.A. he proclaimed, "Barbara cannot stand Rosie." He said he planned to sue O'Donnell for defamation because he never filed for bankruptcy.
O'Donnell, meanwhile, limited her comebacks to The View, in which she responded to Trump's personal attacks by making pig faces, and her blog, on which she referred to him as "the comb over" and equated him to a pimp. She also linked to a Wikipedia entry about Trump's companies' past money troubles.
From her vacation location, Walters attempted to play peacekeeper, releasing a statement calling Trump "a personal friend of mine" and adding she was sure the "tempest" would end soon.
While Walters made no mention of her close personal friendship with Trump on Wednesday's show, she did go out of her way to say that O'Donnell, absent from the day's show, was "on a long, planned vacation with [partner] Kelli and the kids, and not, I can promise you, with Donald Trump.
"Next Monday we will all welcome her back with open arms."
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