A grab bag of Donald Trump invective

The Donald has been a joy to insult for more than 20 years

Published September 5, 2012 7:57PM (EDT)

              (Daily News)
(Daily News)

When the now-defunct magazine Spy called Donald Trump a "short-fingered vulgarian" in the Jan/Feb 1988 issue, it jump-started a rich tradition of insulting the toad-lipped mirror collector. Over the years, writers have been penning colorful invectives for Trump, elevating an otherwise cheap shot at the anthropomorphized bouffant into a cheap shot well worth taking. The most recent flourishing of this minor art came when he made noise about appearing at the Republican convention. Here are some of the best:

1. "Short-fingered vulgarian"
Spy Magazine, 1988

2. "America's greatest living comedian"
Walter Kirn, New York magazine, 2000

3. Playing off of Spy magazine: "short-memoried vulgarian"
New York magazine, 2006

4. “Gelatinous cartoon slumlord”
Jim Newell, Gawker, 2011

5. “Financially embattled thousandaire”
Gail Collins, the New York Times, 2011

6. “A television star famous for his ‘billionaire’ character who makes a good living licensing his name after failing in the casino business”
Alex Pareene, Salon, 2011

7. "Civil Rights Icon"
Jim Newell, Gawker, 2011

8. "Reality show host and antique doll hair thief"
Jon Stewart, "The Daily Show," 2012

9. "Self-appointed Twitter media critic"
Dylan Byers, Politico, 2012

10. “The world's most relentless self-promoting attention whore”
Dan Amira, New York magazine, 2012

11. "Human candy corn Donald Trump, a well-known Political Expert and Successful Reality-Television Business Actor"
Max Read, Gawker, 2012

12. "Oft-bankrupt make-believe mogul clown with a tv show"
Alex Pareene, Salon, 2012

Did we miss any? Let us know your favorite Donald Trump takedown in the comments below.

 

 

 

 

 


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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Donald Trump Writers And Writing