Donald Trump made the first of his weekly "Monday Mornings With Trump" appearances on Monday's "Fox and Friends."
Trump has been in the news more than ever recently, thanks to his purported mulling of a presidential run and his controversial comments about President Obama's citizenship. The hubbub has brought Trump more than his fair share of criticism. The New York Times' Gail Collins ripped him in a Saturday column, saying that Trump has changed his politics so much that "by 2016, he’ll probably be talking about his affinity for the Alaskan Independence Party or the Whigs," and recounting a sticky exchange she had with the billionaire:
During one down period, I referred to him in print as a “financially embattled thousandaire” and he sent me a copy of the column with my picture circled and “The Face of a Dog!” written over it.
Other outlets have also mocked Trump rather brutally, and cable news pundits of all stripes have dismissed his birther-like comments about President Obama. Glenn Beck distanced himself from Trump last week, saying he makes him "uncomfortable" and calling him a "showboat."
Trump's friend Mika Brzezinski also weighed in, saying that the magnate was "promoting hate" and telling the New York Times, "along the lines of friends don’t let friends drive drunk, friends are honest with each other.”
Even normally staid CNN weighed in, with anchor Carol Costello calling Trump a "joke" and sarcastically mocking his birther theories.
For his part, Trump has remained unfazed by all of the brickbats, and the first installment of his Fox News segment was a relatively cheerful affair.
On "Fox and Friends," he spoke to the team on the phone, weighing in on everything from the budget battles in Congress to the latest "Celebrity Apprentice" to his appearance on "The O'Reilly Factor," which he called "probably the biggest show" O'Reilly had ever done.
Trump also spoke about the rumor that Oprah wants to give him an on-air makeover. He joked that she has a "sinister plan" to render him so hideous that he would be no match in a presidential run against President Obama.