Donald Trump to Bail Out Ed McMahon

Not long after President Bush enacted sweeping legislation designed—among other things—to keep struggling borrowers in their homes, Donald Trump has apparently come down with a little bailout fever himself.

"The Donald" is reportedly going to purchase the home of Ed McMahon in a deal that would save the former Tonight Show sidekick from foreclosure and create a landlord-tenant relationship that's got situation comedy written all over it.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Megadeveloper and TV personality Donald Trump has agreed to buy Ed McMahon's Beverly Hills house for an undisclosed amount and allow McMahon to continue living in it. Details of the deal are still being ironed out.

"I don't know the man, but I grew up watching him on TV," Trump said in an exclusive interview with The Times.

McMahon, 85, was facing foreclosure within two weeks on his Beverly Hills home of 18 years. The aging television icon, who was Johnny Carson's sidekick for three decades, defaulted on $4.8 million in mortgage loans with Countrywide Financial Corp. He said in interviews that he was unable to work because of a neck injury that occurred about 18 months ago.

Trump said he stepped in because helping McMahon "would be an honor." His plan is to buy the home from the lender and lease it back to McMahon.

"When I was at the Wharton School of Business," Trump said, "I'd watch him every night. How could this happen?"