This is a partial transcript from "On the Record," January 3, 2007, that has been edited for clarity.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: Tonight, Barbara is in the ring. Yes, Barbara Walters, another TV titan dragged into the bitter Rosie versus Donald feud. The battle first began on Barbara's TV show "The View." Rosie dissed Donald. Donald fired back, and the nasty insults were off. Donald's been on a rampage, and he even claims that Barbara Walters is no Rosie fan, either. "Bogus," Barbara fired back on today's show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA WALTERS, "THE VIEW": ABC has asked me to say this just to clarify things, and I will quote. "Donald Trump has never filed for personal bankruptcy. Several of his casino companies have filed for business bankruptcies. They are out of bankruptcy now." I have never regretted nor do I now the hiring of Rosie O'Donnell. When Rosie left her own show four years ago at the height of its popularity because she wanted to spend more time with her children, I thought that she would probably not come back to daytime and she wouldn't want to work on an ensemble. But she did, and she has said that she did it for me. And she has brought a new vitality to this show, and the ratings prove it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, not so fast. What's Donald's rebuttal to Barbara? We went straight to the source. Just a short time ago, we spoke with Donald Trump by phone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: Donald, thank you for joining us again.
DONALD TRUMP, CHAIRMAN, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Thank you, Greta.
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, it sounds like Barbara Walters has now spoken out on this. Your reply to Barbara Walters, who at least appears to disagree with you very strongly?
TRUMP: Well, I appreciate the fact that she retracted. You know, I — I'm on the cover of the Forbes 400 last month, and it was a wonderful cover and a wonderful story and wonderful everything else. And then you had Rosie saying that Donald Trump went bankrupt. And Donald Trump never went bankrupt, and they retracted their statement. And perhaps they were referring to a long time ago, but I never went bankrupt at all, period. So it was one of those things and they did a retraction, and I think that was very nice.
But you know, there were many other things that they said that were also false. And Rosie — I don't blame Barbara Walters, I blame Rosie. She's a person that doesn't understand the truth.
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, in her statement today, Barbara Walters on "The View," she said that — in reference to whether or not she was happy with Rosie, she said nothing could be further from the truth, that she wanted Rosie to essentially — to remain — or to be off the show, which is in contrast to what you told us the other night. Did she tell you she wanted Rosie off the show when she spoke to you privately?
TRUMP: Greta, Barbara called me and Barbara said many things that were very negative and anti-Rosie. Barbara's embarrassed by Rosie. Barbara thinks Rosie's a disaster. Barbara is also somebody that — how can she live with that? How can she possibly say that?
So I understand what Barbara is doing. Barbara can't say that she — if Barbara told you what she told me, she would have a problem like she's never had before. So I fully understand that she has to support her show. And because of people like me, their ratings are up a little bit from last year. Of course, last year was the worst year they ever had.
But ultimately, Rosie will destroy that show, just like she destroyed the Broadway play, Rosie magazine, just like she destroyed everything else she's been — it seems to me, everything else she's been involved in. But Barbara was very negative on Rosie, and Barbara certainly can't say that.
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, apparently — you mentioned the ratings. What she said on "The View" was, "She," meaning Rosie, "has brought a new vitality to this show, and the ratings prove it."
TRUMP: Well...
VAN SUSTEREN: Is she saying...
TRUMP: Thank goodness for Donald Trump.
VAN SUSTEREN: ... that the show's doing well?
TRUMP: Thank goodness for Donald Trump. The show had its worst year last year, and now because of people like me and because she attacks a Kelly Ripa and because she attacks a Danny Devito, she gets some stuff (ph). But ultimately, you watch what's going to happen. And here's my prediction. She will have a huge fight ultimately with Barbara Walters, and she will be fired.
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, here's my — I guess this is the thing that troubles me more — at least, at this point, is that Barbara Walters making this public statement on television today, yet apparently made this call to you earlier and saying something very different. Which Barbara Walters are we to believe?
TRUMP: How can Barbara Walters tell you or tell the world what she said to me? She can't do that. She has to live with this person. She has to live with this animal. And she can't say what she said to me.
VAN SUSTEREN: Doesn't that bother you?
TRUMP: No. It's — Barbara is doing her thing. I mean, she's got to do business. But eventually, she'll probably come around and say what actually happened. I think that when she has enough of Rosie, when Rosie's finished which, you know, probably, based on her other — what Rosie does is she starts something like Rosie magazine. It turned out to be a total catastrophe. Rosie on Broadway was a total catastrophe. Let's see what happens. I really look forward to talking to you the next time, in a year or in six months, because I guarantee Rosie will self-destruct. She sort of always seems to self-destruct.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Did you make the phone call to Barbara Walters, or did she call you?
TRUMP: She called me.
VAN SUSTEREN: When was it?
TRUMP: About four or five days ago.
VAN SUSTEREN: And she said — and as best you can recall, what did she say about Rosie O'Donnell...
TRUMP: I'm not going to get into that. I can only tell you she was very negative on Rosie. And she's, I'm sure, very embarrassed to have to try to and justify Rosie. And she made a total retraction of the fact that I went bankrupt because what happened there is Rosie lied, as you understand. And that was a total retraction.
In fact, that's the way the press is even covering it. I have one story here written by a major outlet, In what essentially amounts to a total retraction, Barbara Walters said such and such. So the fact is that she retracted a statement that was a lie. Now let's see what happens with the rest. But how can Barbara Walters in any way, shape or form go against Rosie when she has to live with this person on the show? I predict...
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: I'll tell you why, though.
TRUMP: Greta, I predict that...
VAN SUSTEREN: It's a lie one way or the other. I mean, either she supports Rosie or she doesn't. Either she said that to you...
TRUMP: Barbara knows what she said.
VAN SUSTEREN: ... or she didn't.
TRUMP: You speak to Barbara. Barbara knows very well what she said.
VAN SUSTEREN: If I were to call Barbara, how do you think she would characterize her conversation with you?
TRUMP: I have no idea. Barbara knows the truth. If Barbara wants to tell the truth, I would have actually more respect. But Barbara knows the truth. Barbara also has to live with this person, and it's awfully tough for Barbara to publicly state what she told me. But Barbara knows the truth.
VAN SUSTEREN: She could have been silent. She could have been silent. She didn't have to say anything at all.
TRUMP: Yes, she did. If you were working with somebody, you would have to make a statement, and you would make a statement probably that would be a positive statement toward that person. But it will end, Greta.
VAN SUSTEREN: But I mean, you know, the thing is, Donald, I think as a viewer of "The View," it would trouble me greatly if I thought that Barbara Walters was saying one thing to you, which was...
TRUMP: She made a much different statement to me than she made on that show. And just like they retracted the outright lie, which is an easy one to say because, you know, obviously, this thing that Rosie said happened to me never happened, OK? And just like that was a retraction, Barbara — but see, that was easy to prove. That was easy to prove. But what Barbara said to me is not what Barbara said today on "The View."
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you think you and Barbara will be talking soon?
TRUMP: I love Barbara. She's great. She's just doing her thing.
VAN SUSTEREN: How long have you known her?
TRUMP: Have a good time, Greta.
VAN SUSTEREN: How long have you known her?
TRUMP: I've known her a long time. She's a terrific woman.
VAN SUSTEREN: And this doesn't bother you at all, Donald.
TRUMP: Not even a little bit.
VAN SUSTEREN: And in terms of Rosie, I take it that you and Rosie won't be talking soon.
TRUMP: Rosie's a slob. I have no interest in Rosie. I've known Rosie a long time, too. You shouldn't even mention those two women in the same breath.
VAN SUSTEREN: Would you appear on "The View," if invited?
TRUMP: I'll always be invited. I mean, of course I get invited because I build up their ratings. I have no interest going on "The View."
VAN SUSTEREN: So how does this play out? Does this just — will this — I mean, this will now end, do you think, or this dispute go on between...
TRUMP: I have no idea. It makes no difference to me. I mean, I understand Rosie. I've caught her in lies. She just retracted one of her lies. And we'll see how it plays out. You'll probably be following it.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Miss USA is what sort of started this whole thing. She has — how's she doing?
TRUMP: Miss USA is doing fantastically. She comes out of rehab in about a week-and-a-half, and I think she's going to be a great inspiration to a lot of people that have this same problem.
VAN SUSTEREN: Why do you think that Rosie took a swipe at you about your willingness to let Miss USA have a second shot?
TRUMP: It's really hard to believe, isn't it? I guess she doesn't...
VAN SUSTEREN: What's behind that, though, do you think?
TRUMP: Well, I mean, Rosie understands that I understand her. I've known Rosie for a long time, and I understand Rosie. Rosie is not a winner. She's a loser. Rosie is somebody that is — in my opinion, she's got somewhat of a death wish. I think that Rosie understands that I understand her, and that bothered her very much. So she took a swipe at me, and she took the swipe for something that I did that's been universally hailed.
I mean, I gave somebody a second chance. I would have destroyed this young girl's life if I fired her from being Miss USA. Her life would have been destroyed, and I didn't want to do it. Rosie wanted me to do that because Rosie is somebody that is not a very good person.
VAN SUSTEREN: I guess I can understand taking a swipe at someone if the person did something like not giving someone a second chance. I mean, I might be likely to give you a swipe, Donald, if you didn't give someone a second chance.
TRUMP: Well, a lot of people wanted me — in all fairness to Rosie, a lot of people wanted me to fire her. I decided not to do that, and I think it was the right decision. And I think Tara will do a great job in terms of inspiration for a lot of other people that have this same problem.
VAN SUSTEREN: And in terms of Barbara, your relationship will remain good?
TRUMP: That's up to Barbara. I mean, it's not very important to me, but it's up to Barbara. I think Barbara's a terrific woman. She has a real problem now. And she's got to hold this animal at bay. So let's see what happens.
VAN SUSTEREN: But your friendship has been going on for a long time. It seems sort of odd that — you know, that — you know, that Barbara's one thing, you're saying another thing. Rosie's taking swipes at you. You know, this is...
TRUMP: No, no, no. Rosie took a swipe at me, and Rosie met her match. Let's face it, Greta, I've exposed Rosie for what she is, which is really a very — it's very low on the totem pole. And they issued a retraction on Rosie's statement, and that's very interesting. But it was a total retraction of Rosie's statement.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Donald. Thank you very much for joining us. Good luck. And no one's ever said you're a shrinking violet, either, Donald.
TRUMP: Well, I'm not, and neither are you. Thank you, Greta.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Thanks, Donald.
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