Donald Trump knows how to milk a feud.
President Obama's release of his birth certificate Wednesday was the biggest moment in Trump's history of feuds since 2007's Wrestlemania, when wrestlers brawled on behalf of His Hairness and the WWE's Vince McMahon to determine which man would have to submit to having his head shaved.
But Wrestlemania was more dignified.
Like rappers, wrestlers and reality stars -- the "Celebrity Apprentice" host knows at least two of their worlds well -- the Donald has learned that high-profile feuds can instantly boost your notoriety. The bigger the opponent, the bigger the boost, which explains Trump taking on the president.
Is he serious about parlaying his embarrassment of the Commander in Chief into a serious run for office? Even Trump's advisors say they don't know. But there's no question Trump has cleverly and cynically manipulated a conflict-loving public to make sure everyone at least knows he's thinking about it.
Here's a guide to his feuds since he began toying with the idea.
Trump vs. Bill Cosby
In Trump's defense, he didn't ask for this one -- unless insinuating that the country's first African-American president might have been born in Africa, despite all evidence to the contrary, is asking for it. After the infamous "Today" interview in which Trump claimed to have investigators in Hawaii who "cannot believe what they are finding" (that Obama was born there?) fellow guest Bill Cosby said Trump was "full of it" and should "run or shut up." Trump wrote a long missive saying Cosby was -- gasp! -- "an Obama fan" and that he was two-faced for being cordial to Trump in person "only to denigrate me when I'm not around."
Winner: The Cos. Rappers figured out long ago that a truly great insult requires you to treat your opponent as so insignificant that you barely have time to disrespect him. (Case in point: feud-master Jay-Z dedicating just "half a bar" of lyrics to his haters in the brilliant diss track "The Takeover.") Cosby's brusque dismissal was just that -- a dismissal -- and by taking the time to respond, Trump came off as thin-skinned.
Trump vs. Lawrence O'Donnell
Annoyed that Trump referred to O'Donnell's "The Last Call" as "some show that gets no ratings,” the MSNBC host suggested Trump's presidential exploration was a publicity stunt and that NBC was playing along. He also said he couldn't have Trump on his show because "getting Donald on your show requires a certain amount of sucking up to Donald and pretending he is some kind of adult in an adult chair." A Trump adviser later accused O'Donnell of using Trump to elevate his ratings.
Winner: O'Donnell. Trump went for the "ratings=good" canard (fact: no correlation) and the adult chair thing is funny no matter what. It also came off as a backhanded critique of "Today," which was gutsy.
