Saudi Prince Responds To Donald Trump’s Fox News Claim With Epic Diss

Despite his penchant and flair for social media bombast, every so often Donald Trump comes across a foil who holds his or her own. Indeed, Trump’s recent tweets about Fox News – continuing a months old, on again/off again feud with the network – seem to have put him at odds with an honest to goodness prince, of all folks. Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal recently took issue with one of Trump’s more dubious assertions about America’s top-rated right leaning network, and in doing so, he cast aspersions on Trump’s grasp on reality as well as his financial solvency.

According to Vox, the flap came about on Thursday, when Donald Trump re-tweeted a meme from one of his supporters. The graphic – which appears to bear the hallmarks of a quick and dirty Photoshop-style edit – asserts that Alwaleed bin Talal is a co-owner of Fox News, also claiming that Fox on-screen personality and Trump arch rival Megyn Kelly as the sister of the Saudi Prince. The image and text are so over the top, that they seem blatantly satirical, but Trump himself was impressed enough to share it with his Twitter followers, which now number almost 6 million.

@Drudge_Report_ @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/yjQSzw2GaR

— Brad (@BradCross4) January 28, 2016

Alwaleed bin Talal – who actually does own a relatively small stake in the parent company of Fox News – eventually responded, using Donald Trump’s preferred medium, Twitter. Not only did he criticize the rudimentary graphics of the aforementioned meme, he also noted his past history of financial generosity in business dealings with the billionaire candidate, claiming that he has “bailed out” Trump twice in the past. He also jested that Donald might need his help again in the future.

Trump:You base your statements on photoshopped pics?I bailed you out twice;a 3rd time,maybe?https://t.co/Raco0mvusp https://t.co/jStBl7Ghia

— ?????? ?? ???? (@Alwaleed_Talal) January 28, 2016

The Daily Mail noted that Donald Trump spoke publicly regarding the dust-up later that evening, claiming that he has never met Alwaleed bin Talal and adding that he has never liked the prince anyway. Trump also claimed that it is Alwaleed and not Trump who is in need of financial assistance.

“No, no… He didn’t bail me out. Let me tell you – he needs bailing out right now, if you look at where he’s going. He needs bailing out. He needs big bailouts… Don’t know him, just never liked him. Never liked his style.”

Vox noted that Alwaleed bin Talal has, in fact, “bailed Trump out twice” by purchasing the businessman’s assets when he was in financial trouble. In 1991, Alwaleed paid trump’s creditors $281million for one of the real estate mogul’s yachts. In 1995, a business venture involving the Saudi prince purchased Trump’s Plaza Hotel in New York. Trump had been forced to sell the property as part of bankruptcy proceedings and lost $75 million on the deal.

Reporting on the back and forth between Trump and Alwaleed, the New Yorker noted that the Saudi Prince has been identified by Forbes as “the richest individual in the Arab world.” He owns respectable stakes in a number of high profile companies including Apple, Disney, and even Twitter.

Their financial entanglements notwithstanding, Donald Trump and Alwaleed bin Talal have mixed it up publicly in the recent past. After Trump called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States, Alwaleed called him “a disgrace” to the GOP and to America. He also called on Trump to withdraw from the presidential race. Donald Trump replied by calling the Saudi Prince “dopey” and saying that the Saudis will not be able to control American politicians under a Donald Trump presidency.

[Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images]