Many people first came to hear of Donald Trump not from his career in real estate, but from his role as a reality TV star on The Apprentice. The series first aired back in 2004 and continued its run all the way until 2017. Donald only left the show when he began to have a greater interest in the political field.
In a new book that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the notorious reality TV show, author Ramin Setoodeh reveals some shocking truths about Donald Trump. Ramin spent several hours speaking with the former President to get his take on the show, and his thoughts about it may surprise you.
Donald Trump Wasn’t Ready To Say Goodbye To His Past On The Apprentice
Ramin’s book is titled Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass, and it details Donald’s journey throughout the seasons of the show – and the way that the fame affected him. While interviewing Donald, Ramin noted that he seemed as though he “always wanted to return” back to reality TV.
The Apprentice ran for 15 seasons spanning between 2004 to 2017.
It seems that though Donald has since pivoted to a career in politics, when he first got into the field, he was hesitant to let his ties to The Apprentice go entirely. Ramin reports that back in 2016, when Donald was fully in the midst of his presidential campaign, he still refused to let the original set be shuttered.
Ramin detailed what this decision was like for the rest of Donald’s family, weighing in on his findings from speaking with the former President:
What’s so interesting is that when Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, they didn’t actually tear down the boardroom, which was the set in Trump Tower. They left it up for a number of months while the campaign was sort of finding its way, finding its path and I think the family was navigating whether or not this was real.
It would appear that while Donald didn’t want to let go of his attachment to the show, his own family members were unsure of how seriously to take his attempt at politics. Perhaps those closest to him were skeptical of his ability all the way up until the end of the election – and perhaps they remain equally skeptical today as Donald now gears up for the 2024 election.
Is Donald Trump Plotting A Return To Reality TV
Hearing Trump’s attachment to the set of The Apprentice prompted Ramin to ask him more about his time onscreen. When Ramin inquired whether Donald would ever consider a return to reality TV, Donald apparently told him that going back to something you used to do was “kind of like going back to a relationship that you’ve left.”
Donald Trump once requested a $6 million per episode salary for
The Apprentice
.
This, of course, prompted Ramin to ask another obvious question – wasn’t running for the presidency a second time not another version of going back to something you used to do? This, according to Donald, was a different matter entirely. He noted that because he believed he was “cheated” out of the 2020 election, he really was the rightful winner over Joe Biden.
Given these comments from Donald, Ramin was able to determine that, even if a part of him might want to, Donald saw issues in terms of optics when it came to returning to reality TV. Ramin suspects there may still be a part of Donald that has an interest in being on a TV series, but that returning to it at this point in time would “admit some sort of defeat” or “suggest the presidency was a consolation prize.”
Former Celebrity Apprentice Winners: |
Piers Morgan |
Joan Rivers |
Bret Michaels |
John Rich |
Arsenio Hall |
Trace Adkins |
Leeza Gibbons |
Matt Iseman |
That said, Ramin notes that Donald looks back fondly on his time on The Apprentice, surmising that it may, in fact, have been one of the happier periods of his life. Certainly Donald can credit the series for increasing his visibility prior to his career in politics.
During his time on the show, Donald undoubtedly tried to push the network to its limits and amass as much power as he could. In fact, it was recently revealed that as The Apprentice was going into its second season, Donald demanded an absurd raise from parent network NBC. Allegedly, Donald got wind of the fact that Friends was in its final season, and he demanded an episodic sum comparable to that which the entire cast of Friends was earning in total – a whopping $6 million. Despite his push with executives, he did not receive a figure this large.
The pushiness and the unwillingness to take “no” for an answer are traits that Donald seems to have exhibited his entire career, no matter the industry. After spending so much time speaking with Donald, Ramin reached a similar conclusion from their interviews. That is, while one might expect a person to grow and mature as they shift from reality TV star to major political player, this is not the case with Donald.
Ramin elaborated on his findings further in his book:
What I really took away from my time with Donald Trump is that as a person, as a subject, he hasn’t changed. The presidency hasn’t changed him. He still views the world through the lens of reality TV. He conducts himself like a reality TV star. He’s driven and motivated by ratings in the same way that he was as a reality TV star.
If that takeaway wasn’t clear enough, Ramin went on to be even blunter about his impression of Donald, saying that the man isn’t “particularly interested” in the legislative duties that the presidency entails, and that, at the end of the day, all the immature fellow really wants is to be famous.