Who knew Donald Trump was a softie?
The man whose acerbic comments made him Rosie O’Donnell’s No. 1 enemy is Ed McMahon’s new best friend. Or at least his landlord.
The real estate mogul announced that he just shelled out more than $3 million to save Johnny Carson’s sidekick’s Beverly Hills mansion from foreclosure. According to reports, Trump bought the home for an undisclosed amount and plans to lease it to McMahon so he and his wife don’t have to find somewhere else to live.
Eighty-five-year-old McMahon went public a few months ago with his tales of financial woe. The TV personality, who served as Johnny Carson’s sidekick on the “Tonight” show for 30 years, has been unemployed for about 18 months because of a neck injury. In that time McMahon says he defaulted on $4.8 million in mortgage loans.
McMahon reportedly bought the six-bedroom, five-bathroom, 7,000-square-foot house in January 1990. According to the Los Angeles Times, the plush pad was listed at $4.6 million last weekend – down from a peak price of $7 million.
Interestingly, Trump says he doesn’t know McMahon personally, but was compelled to act out of compassion because helping out “would be an honor.”
“When I was at the Wharton School of Business I’d watch him every night,” Trump told the L.A. Times. “How could this happen?”
Very interesting.
I don’t doubt that Trump acted in good faith. After all, who wants to see a TV icon be forced to move from Beverly Hills to skid row (translation: the Valley). However, if Trump really wanted to lend a hand without getting free publicity for it he could have made the deal anonymously. Then again, the new season of his NBC reality TV show “The Celebrity Apprentice” is coming up soon so this is a great way to promote it.
Then again, who really cares how much Trump milks his good deed if it keeps McMahon in his mansion, out of the headlines, and off the streets?