NEW YORK – Donald Trump defended his personal attacks against "The View" co-host Rosie O'Donnell on "The O'Reilly Factor" Thursday night — saying "she started it and I finished it."
"She said I went bankrupt — I never went bankrupt," Trump told O'Reilly. "She's allowed to make fun of the hair, but I shouldn't be doing that [making fun of her looks]. Rosie is a bully — what she said was a lie."
O'Donnell declined to appear on the program.
O'Reilly chastised Trump for going after O'Donnell's appearance and sexual orientation, asking why he didn't attack her on a purely intellectual level. Trump responded: "nobody would listen to that."
Earlier Thursday, Trump fanned the flames of his smoldering feud with O'Donnell, calling her a "despicable person" who might be "jealous that Miss USA likes me and doesn't like her."
"Rosie's a loser, and somebody has to fight back," Trump told FOX News. "I really like Barbara Walters. Believe me — Barbara Walters, in my opinion, rues the day that she put that animal on her show because that show will go down the tubes. You watch."
On "The View" Wednesday, O'Donnell said Trump's news conference with Miss USA Tara Conner had annoyed her "on a multitude of levels." Trump decided to give Conner a second chance after she was accused of underage drinking and using drugs.
"Left the first wife, had an affair, left the second wife, had an affair. Had kids both times, but he's the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America," the comedian and actress said to roars of audience laughter. "Donald, sit and spin, my friend."
• She Said, He Said: Name-Calling the Rosie and Donald Way
Trump lashed back at O'Donnell Wednesday night on several entertainment shows.
"Rosie is somebody out of control who really just doesn't have it," Trump said in an interview on Access Hollywood's Web site. "And she ought to be careful 'cause I'll send one of my friends to pick up her girlfriend, and I think it would be very easy."
On the TV entertainment show "The Insider," he criticized everything from her looks to her former television talk show and magazine.
"Rosie attacks me personally? I know her fairly well because her show failed. She didn't retire. She didn't get the ratings! Her magazine called 'Rosie' was a total disaster," he said.
"She's out of her mind. I will probably sue Rosie for a number of reasons. I'm worth a lot of money. She doesn't tell the facts," he added.
In an interview Wednesday night with the TV entertainment show "Extra," O'Donnell blasted the Trump-Conner news conference as a publicity stunt, declaring, “I think everything that Donald does is a ploy to promote the Trump business. That’s the bottom line. I don’t think he really cares about this young girl.”
She continued, “I just think he’s [Trump] a hot bag of wind, frankly, with bad hair.”
Thursday, O'Donnell responded to Trump's comment that he could steal her girlfriend, Kelli, by bringing Kelli into "The View" audience. "I was afraid to leave her at home in case someone with a comb-over came and stole her from me," she said.
"Frankly, here's my comment to him," O'Donnell added, making a sour face.
But Trump mocked O'Donnell's decision to stay mum on their spat.
"She was a stumbling buffoon today on 'The View,' Trump said. "She's stumbling, she's fumbling, she's not the same Rosie that she was yesterday."
"I hit her between the eyes, she's worried about being sued, and her response today was nothing," said Trump. "She's not a very smart person, if you look at her IQ I guarantee you it's not up there."
"The View" executive producers, Bill Geddie and Barbara Walters (who called in from vacation), issued this statement Thursday:
"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."
• She Said, He Said: Name-Calling the Rosie and Donald Way
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