Donald Trump Blasts Daily News Owner Mort Zuckerman for ‘Inferiority Complex’
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and the New York Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman are not clowning around.
Trump fired back on Twitter on Wednesday against the News after the tabloid published a photo of Trump edited to make him appear similar to “The Joker,” a clown-like villain from the Batman comic series.
“Dopey Mort Zuckerman, owner of the worthless @NYDailyNews, has a major inferiority complex. Paper will close soon!” Trump (@realDonaldTrump) tweeted Wednesday.
The front page headline jeered at New Hampshire voters for handing the Republican presidential candidate a win in the state’s primary election, calling the vote “dawn of the brain dead,” an apparent reference to the zombie horror movie “Dawn of the Dead.”
Zuckerman, a real estate magnate and Jewish philanthropist, tried to sell the struggling paper last year. But he halted the sale after failing to attract a buyer.
Image by New York Daily News
Trump won the New Hampshire primary by almost 20 points Tuesday night, after finishing second in last week’s Iowa caucus. He has been the most popular candidate on social media throughout the campaign, regularly outpacing his competitors in social media buzz during debates.
Wednesday’s online quarrel is hardly the first time that the tabloid paper and the tenacious tycoon have clashed. From his politics to his questionable coif, Trump has long been a target of the Daily News.
On June 17, the paper reported that Trump was running for president with the front-page headline “Clown Runs for Prez.” The headline was accompanied by a photo of Trump that had been edited to depict him as a clown, complete with a red nose.
That same day, Trump tweeted a retort.
“Only a fool would buy the @NYDailyNews. Loses fortune & has zero gravitas,” Trump wrote. “Let it die!”
Trump also came under fire from some Twitter users Tuesday night, as the former reality TV star gained momentum in the Granite State.
The hashtag #TrumpRunningMate emerged on the social media site, and Twitter users cracked wise about who – or what – would join Trump’s ticket, if he were to win the Republican presidential nomination.
“Heavily over-salted takeout that gives you two day bloat. #TrumpRunningMate,” tweeted Fledgeling Feminist (@fledgelingfem).
“#TrumpRunningMate Kanye, and then Kim for State,” tweeted Ross Burnett (@rossburnett) on Tuesday evening.—Reuters
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
