Lauren Ashburn: Clown Show: Donald Trump vs. Al Neuharth

It seems a nasty battle is brewing between USA Today's founder, Al Neuharth, and The Donald.

"Clown," says Neuharth. "Angry," pathetic man, retorts Trump. Them there's fighting words. But it's a typical "he said, he said" political boxing match -- especially for the hair-challenged Donald.

All one has to do it look up "Trump feud" in Google to find a dazzling panoply of epithets. On Rosie O'Donnell's criticism of Trump allowing a woman with a drinking problem to win his Miss America contest: "I've always felt she's a degenerate," Trump said. On Cher who this week criticized Mitt Romney on Twitter, then deleted her tweet: "@Cher attacked @MittRomney. She is an average talent who is out of touch with reality," Trump said. "Like @Rosie O'Donnell, a total loser!"

And apparently Rosie isn't the only O'Donnell he likes to attack. Here's what he had to say about cable host Lawrence O'Donnell on Twitter: "@Lawrence is a total loser who is killing the MSNBC brand."

None of this vitriol includes his ridiculous 'birther' attacks on President Obama, which is the subject of Neuharth's criticism. The name-calling started when the paper's onetime editor, long retired to Florida, used his weekly column to warn Mitt Romney to back away -- and fast -- from his "mistake" of appearing this week at a fundraiser with Trump. "He's a clown who loves doing or saying things, no matter how ridiculous they may be."

Then Neuharth really took him to the mat. He mocked Trump for leaving Yankee games in the fifth inning! Nothing can be worse for a New Yorker to be called a fair-weather Yanks fan. Take that, Donald.

But could there be an ulterior motive here? Attacking New York's biggest loudmouth, of course, gets people writing about you. I am not a regular reader of Neuharth's column, despite the fact that I spent a almost a decade working at USA Today. With the constant barrage of good information and garbage pouring into all of my technical companions -- BlackBerry, iPad, laptop -- it's hard to keep track of it all, let alone read everything I want to read.

Funny, though, here I am writing about Al Neuharth's column -- and he has The Donald to thank for it. Not a bad PR strategy.

Hmm. If it works for Al... Hey Trump: You're a bloviating, pompous, self-righteous bully who craves negative attention which probably has something to do with your childhood upbringing!

Watch this space.

This article was cross-posted at www.daily-download.com

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Follow Lauren Ashburn on Twitter: www.twitter.com/laurenashburn

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