How the Feud Between Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell Devastated 'The View'

Both Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell were friends before their decade-long feud. The 1994 Broadway staging of Grease, which starred O'Donnell as Rizzo, was also attended by Trump and his second wife Marla Maples. However, things changed in 2006 when O'Donnell referred to Trump as a 'snake-oil salesman on Little House on the Prairie' during an appearance on The View. Interestingly, according to author Ramin Setoodeh, O'Donnell's dislike for Trump dates back to when she attended his wedding to Maples in 1993.

Seetodeh stated in his book Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View that O'Donnell would never invite him to be a guest on The Rosie O'Donnell Show because she believed that Trump was a 'jerk'. As reported by Vanity Fair, O'Donnell revealed, "I’m friendly with Marla, which is how I was at his wedding. I know the shit that he did." When pressed for more information, she went on to say, "I can’t say it. You know why Marla doesn’t say it? There are real reasons you don’t say it. People are afraid of him. I am not."

Seetodah further details the now-infamous episode from 2006 that completely transformed Trump's reputation. The writer described the December 2006 episode, when O'Donnell lashed out harshly against Trump. At the time Trump, drew a lot of attention when he chose not to terminate Miss USA Tara Conner after allegations of drug usage, underage drinking, and sexual activity. The next day, O'Donnell chastised his choice, claiming that she doesn't 'enjoy' Trump and that he went bankrupt.

"Listen, this guy annoys me on a multitude of levels. He’s the moral authority? 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? Donald, sit and spin my friend! I don’t enjoy him. No, no, no." An attempt was made by one guest cohost to calm things down. However, O'Donnell went on, "He inherited a lot of money, and he’s been bankrupt so many times, where he didn’t have to pay. Do you know what saved him the second time? After his father died, with that money, he paid off his bankruptcy. Here comes a lawsuit. Get ready. This could be good."

Later, one of the program's producers, Bill Geddie, got a call—from none other than Trump—when the show wrapped up. According to the book, Geddie said, "People thought it was about her doing an impression of him. I thought it would be that she made fun of him and his hair. But it wasn't." The 'bankruptcy' part apparently infuriated Trump and he stated angrily, "I have never declared bankruptcy." 

At the same time, Trump vowed to sue ABC, Barbara Walters, and The View for publishing false information about him. And he grumbled, "I'll be talking to my lawyers."  At a later point, Walters entered damage-control mode, naively believing that she could salvage the situation by consulting with Trump. Walters told Trump she was an understanding 'ally' when he answered the phone and even offered to issue a statement to clarify the state of his finances. Around this period, Walters engaged in a heated argument with O'Donnell about the incident.

The moderator reflected on the situation and expressed remorse for her words in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. She told the outlet, "Barbara and I got in a huge fight, and it was about the Donald Trump thing. He published an open letter to me in the Post. In it, he wrote that she'd called him 'to apologize for my behavior.' I was like, 'Whoa.' We got into an argument in the makeup room that day." After the dispute 'got loud,' the team backstage was in 'shock,' according to O'Donnell, as 'nobody talked to her like that' before.

O'Donnell recalled, "I said something about her daughter, which I shouldn't have said. She was hurt. And we were live in 20 minutes. Sometimes I go back and find that episode and I watch it, and I can see how tense it was. But I have apologized to her many times, and we got past it and saw each other [before her death in 2022]."

However, Trump reportedly went 'nuclear' instead of waiting for The View to air its next episode. He took this opportunity to appear on almost 20 shows to violently criticize O'Donnell. Good Day L.A., Access Hollywood, Anderson Cooper, David Letterman, People, and People magazine were among his interviewees. He would threaten to take O'Donnell's wife away from her and throw derogatory insults at her if he couldn't be in the studio, according to the aforementioned Vanity Fair report.