Donald Trump Blasts Daily News Owner Mort Zuckerman for ‘Inferiority Complex’
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.
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
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30