Another day, another juvenile insult hurled by thin-skinned, crybaby Donald Trump. You have to wonder how Trump would respond to foreign leaders who were critical of him were he president. Judging by his past childish behavior he would counter criticisms from Vladimir Putin by calling him a loser; Kim Jong Un by mocking his height; and Angela Merkel would be deemed fat and/or ugly. Then he’d stick out his tongue, blow raspberries, and grin as if he’d accomplished something.

That kind of diplomacy is the best of what we can expect from Trump. As evidence, he just engaged in a twitter clash with Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. Alwaleed is a member of the royal Saud family of Saudi Arabia. He is also the largest shareholder of 21st Century Fox (the parent corporation of Fox News) outside of the Murdoch family. In response to Trump’s racist and unconstitutional proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the United States, which include Alwaleed himself, Alwaleed tweeted…

“You are a disgrace not only to the GOP but to all America. Withdraw from the US presidential race as you will never win.”

And Trump, fully displaying the level of his maturity, responded…

“Dopey Prince @Alwaleed_Talal wants to control our U.S. politicians with daddy’s money. Can’t do it when I get elected.”

OK, the “dopey” part is typical Trumpian douchery. But what followed deserves some analysis. First of all, Trump has no moral ground to attack someone for having inherited wealth. Trump got his start with his daddy’s money and then proceeded to fail repeatedly in his business ventures. In fact, had Trump simply invested his inheritance in a Dow Jones index fund, he would be three or four times richer than he is today.

Secondly, Alwaleed isn’t trying to control U.S. politicians. He is simply expressing his opinion. It is Trump who, by his own admission, tried to control politicians for decades with his donations to their campaigns. And now he using his wealth to try to buy the White House (which he would only deface with his gauche taste and demeanor.

The spectacle that Trump is making of himself is precisely what Alwaleed called it: a disgrace. And Trump’s response just makes things worse. After all, “dopey” Alwaleed is #34 on the Forbes Magazine list of billionaires with $24.8 billion dollars. Trump is #405 with $4.3 billion – about one-sixth of Alwaleed’s fortune. Since Trump constantly tries to use his wealth as proof of how great he is (in his own mind), then Alwaleed is six times greater. Additionally, Alwaleed rescued Trump when he was floundering financially by buying his yacht, the Trump Princess (now rechristened as Kingdom 5KR), and his stake in the Plaza Hotel, for which Trump could not make his payments.

It needs to be said that Alwaleed is not a exactly a paragon of virtue. While he is a businessman/investor and not a politician, his country is one of the worst civil rights violators in the world, that discriminates against women, gays, and people of different faiths. But his remarks on this matter, and many other public issues, are fairly progressive and tolerant of diversity. It would be interesting to see what impact he would have if were elevated to a leadership role in his government. But that only makes his criticism of Trump more powerful because, if someone coming from a country with such a dismal record can righteously shame Trump, then Trump has has really sailed off the edge of the Earth.

Finally, it is significant that Trump is directing his puerile insults at one of the principle owners of Fox News. He has been a major beneficiary of the network’s coverage of his campaign. Media Matters has compiled data that shows Trump has dominated Fox’s airtime. And he achieved that despite having engaged in numerous, well-publicized feuds with the network. He has maligned many of their top people, including anchors, commentators, and all the way up to the executive suites of Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch.

Nevertheless, Fox News continues to lick Trump’s Ferragamos and treat him like their master. This swipe at Alwaleed is just the latest example of his arrogant disdain that not only goes unpunished by Fox, but gets rewarded with more fawning coverage and fierce defense every time he lets loose another gaffe, lie, or other expression of his overt hatefulness and fascistic tendencies.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

It’s uncanny how Trump’s glassy-eyed supporters cling desperately to him no matter how much he lies to them (see the Trump Bullshitopedia). But equally bizarre is how Fox News clings to him no matter how abusive he is. They are like a battered spouse who come back for more after every beating. And sadly, the rest of the media isn’t much better at turning away from their batterer.