Before Donald Trump was the 45th president of the United States, he was the host of a little show called “The Apprentice.”
The NBC business-competition show ran for 15 seasons, with the entrepreneur helming the round table from 2004 until 2017.
The politician wanted his daughter Ivanka to take over as host of “The Apprentice.” NBC/Courtesy Everett CollectionTrump left the show in 2015 so he could focus on his presidential campaign — a race he won a year later.
In author Ramin Setoodeh’s forthcoming book, “Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass,” Trump reveals that he wanted his daughter Ivanka Trump to sub in for him on the show.
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“I said, ‘The best person to hire would be Ivanka Trump,’” the politician recalled. “I didn’t press it. But I felt Ivanka would have been by far the best person you could hire.”
“NBC didn’t like it, because it became like a family thing,” he went on. “But I said, ‘There’s nobody you’re going to hire that will come even close to Ivanka.’ They said, ‘Huh’ … And then they came back with Arnold Schwarzenegger.”
Setoodeh, who is Variety’s co-editor-in-chief, looks back on the TV show and how it helped shape Trump’s political career.
“The Apprentice” ran from 2004 until 2017 on NBC. NBC/Courtesy Everett CollectionAccording to Variety, “Apprentice in Wonderland” takes its basis from many hours of interviews with Trump after his White House exit in January 2021, as well as talks with his advisers on the show, George Ross and Carolyn Kepcher, NBC executives and even ex-contestants.
“The Apprentice” followed a crop of candidates each season who competed for a position in one of the organizations run by the host.
Trump was later fired from NBC during his campaign after he made racist remarks regarding Mexican immigrants.
“I said, ‘The best person to hire would be Ivanka Trump,’” he recalled. “I didn’t press it. But I felt Ivanka would have been by far the best person you could hire.” Getty ImagesFollowing the “Home Alone 2” star’s exit, former California Gov. Schwarzenegger took his place as the host of what they renamed to “The New Celebrity Apprentice.”
Trump also was vying for his sons Eric, 40, and Don Trump Jr., 46, to join Ivanka, 42, in the boardroom. The siblings often appeared on the show in a guest capacity.
“Apprentice in Wonderland” will hit bookshelves on June 18. NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection“It was going to be the three of us,” Eric dished to Setoodeh. “There were talks for a little while about it.”
“I think it’s pretty hard to say we’re going to run with reality TV in a time when you’re talking about ending nuclear proliferation around the world,” he added. “I’m not sure the two could have worked in tandem.”
“Apprentice in Wonderland” will hit bookshelves on June 18.
