‘War of Words' Escalates Between Trump, O'Donnell

Things got even uglier yesterday in the bitter war of words between Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell.

The Donald called the Los Angeles-based morning show "Good Day L.A." to sound off on Ms. O'Donnell's remarks about his near-firing of Miss USA Tara Conner.

"Maybe she wanted to put the crown back on Miss USA's head," the real estate mogul said of the openly gay Ms. O'Donnell, who has four children with her partner, Kelli. "I think she's very attracted to Miss USA so she probably wanted to put the crown on her head herself."

Insult no. 2: "She is a very, very unattractive woman who really is a bully."

Insult no.3: "Ultimately, Rosie is a loser, and ultimately ["The View"] will fail because of Rosie. ... Barbara [Walters] made a mistake and let me tell you something, Barbara's a good friend of mine. She cannot stand Rosie O'Donnell."

It all started when Ms. O'Donnell, cohost of the ABC morning talk show "The View," blasted Trump on Wednesday's show.

She said Mr. Trump's news conference with Ms. Conner, whose title was in jeopardy because of underage drinking, had annoyed her "on a multitude of levels" and that the twice-divorced Donald had no right to be a "moral compass" for the beauty queen.

"He inherited a lot of money," she said. "Wait a minute, and he's been bankrupt so many times where he didn't have to pay. ... I just think that this man is sort of like one of those, you know, snake oil salesmen in ‘Little House on the Prairie.'"

Mr. Trump fired back later Wednesday in a TV interview, calling Ms. O'Donnell a "slob," among other insults. "I never went bankrupt, but she said I went bankrupt. So probably I'll sue her because it would be fun."

Ms. Walters, who created the "The View," and executive producer Bill Geddie are standing by Ms. O'Donnell — and Mr. Trump.

"Both Rosie and Donald are high-spirited, opinionated people. Donald has been a friend of ‘The View' for many years and Rosie, of course, is our enormously popular moderator. We cherish them both and hope the new year brings calm and peace," they said Wednesday in a statement.

Mr. Trump, owner of the Miss Universe Organization, which includes Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, said Tuesday at a news conference that he would allow Ms. Conner to keep her title if she settled down and entered alcohol rehab. Ms. Conner tearfully admitted drinking as a minor at New York nightclubs. She turned 21 a day before the news conference.