Long before Donald Trump became the President, he was a famous business leader and reality show star who made movie cameos. Since Donald arguably is now the most famous person in the world, a lot of attention gets paid to things like his behavior when he hosted The Apprentice and which celebrities endorsed him. However, a lot of people don’t realize that Donald has a strange connection to Survivor’s host, Jeff Probst.
Since Jeff has hosted every Survivor season and watched the show’s greatest players ever up close, he often gets interviewed. The thing that most fans don’t realize is that Jeff has a history of making comments about Donald.
Jeff Probst Has Called Out Donald Trump
At first glance, it seems like there would be absolutely no reason for Jeff Probst and Donald Trump to have any kind of history. After all, many people likely assume that Donald and Jeff don’t have any connections.
However, people who are more familiar with both men’s history will likely realize they have one huge thing in common. Both men’s lives were changed forever when they became the hosts of reality shows. More than that, Jeff and Donald owe their reality TV superstardom to the same person.
After Mark Burnett hired Jeff Probst to host Survivor, he made a deal with Donald Trump to host The Apprentice. Given that they have that friend and colleague in common, it is a little bit surprising at first glance that Jeff has called Donald out in the past.
When fans look at how Jeff has called Donald out in the past, however, it actually makes a lot of sense that they were arguably on similar levels.
Shows Mark Burnett Has Created or Produced | |
|---|---|
Show | Years It Aired |
Survivor | May 31, 2000–present |
The Apprentice | January 8, 2004–February 13, 2017 |
Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? | February 27, 2007-November 3, 2019 |
Shark Tank | August 9, 2009–present |
The Voice | April 26, 2011–present |
Beat Shazam | May 25, 2017–present |
Generation Gap | July 7, 2022–September 21, 2023 |
After all, Jeff talked about Donald in ways that made it seem like they were peers at the time.
Related
Survivor: Panama Took A Strange Turn After Shane Powers And Aras Baskauskas Found Something Highly Illegal
Survivor: Panama’s Shane Powers and Aras Baskauskas found something extremely illegal while they were playing the game.
In 2023, the TikTok account @allwinnerssurvivor uploaded a video of Jeff Probst from many years earlier. In the video, Jeff begins by mocking Donald for having the catchphrase that he tells people they’re fired.
Throughout the history of
Survivor
, there have been several previously famous people who’ve competed on the show. Jeff Probst also told
People
in February 2020 that he had “approached people” who were famous to gauge their interest in competing during an all-celebrity edition of
Survivor
. With all that in mind, it isn’t surprising that Jeff once suggested Donald Trump could compete on
Survivor
.
From there, Jeff jokingly told Donald that he would like to fire him if he competed on Survivor.
“Donald, you talk so much trash with the ‘you’re fired.’ And I’d love to see what your face looks like when I take that snuffer and say, no, Donald. You’re fired. Take me up on my offer, man. I’ll see you on the island.”
Jeff’s comment at the end appeared to suggest that Donald would be too scared to compete on Survivor.
Even though Jeff once seemingly tried to recruit Donald for Survivor, it appears that he wasn’t interested in things going the other way at the time.
Before Donald Trump became the President of the United States, he arguably was the most famous reality star in the world. Between 2004 and 2017, millions of fans watched Donald host
The Apprentice
.
In 2011, someone on X/Twitter asked Jeff if he would consider competing on Celebrity Apprentice. Fortunately for that fan, Jeff noticed the question and actually responded in a tweet. Jeff responded by making it clear he wouldn’t compete on Celebrity Apprentice. Most notably, Jeff dismissed the idea that he would want to impress Donald.
Impressing Donald Trump, not high on life goals.
Jeff would go on to speak about Donald on several other occasions after that.
Jeff Probst Compared Donald Trump To One Of The Most Hated Survivor Players Ever
In October 2015, Survivor fans got to see Jeff Varner play during Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance. At the time that season was airing, Jeff spoke to Entertainment Weekly about how he was playing the game, and he brought up Donald Trump.
Related
The Audience At The Tonight Show Applauded Donald Trump After He Joked About Tiger Woods’ Cheating Scandal
Donald Trump didn’t hold back while talking about Tiger Woods’ infamous cheating scandal.
Jeff Varner would later return to play for a third time during Survivor: Game Changers. During that season, Jeff Varner outed one of his tribemates, Zeke Smith, as a transgender man in an attempt to claim he was dishonest. That reviled action would make Jeff Varner one of the most hated Survivor players ever.
Survivor’s Most Hated Players, According to Screen Rant | |
|---|---|
Player | Rank |
Randy Bailey | #10 |
Jerri Manthey | #9 |
Benjamin “Coach” Wade | #8 |
Richard Hatch | #7 |
Brian Heidik | #6 |
Jonny Fairplay | #5 |
Russell Hantz | #4 |
Colton Cumbie | #3 |
Dan Spilo | #2 |
Jeff Varner | #1 |
While talking to Entertainment Weekly in 2015, Jeff Probst compared Donald and Jeff Varner. Since fans hadn’t seen the thing that made Jeff Varner so hated yet, that wasn’t as insulting as the comparison may sound at first.
However, the way that Jeff Probst compared Donald Trump and Jeff Varner arguably was still insulting to the future President.
After all, Jeff Probst compared Donald and Jeff Varner by claiming that both of them were playing outside the lines of normally accepted behavior.
“One player wins, the rest lose. Why play for the jury? Why pretend? Jeff Varner is going for it. He’s trying to play the game outside of the lines — a bit like Donald Trump — and like Trump, at the moment anyway, he is the MOST talked about player this season. By a long shot.”
Jeff Probst Compared Donald Trump’s First Run For PResident To A Reality Show
In January 2016, Time published an article about the Presidential race at that time. Surprisingly enough, Time spoke to Jeff Probst for their article about that subject.
Related
Why Jeff Probst Once Hated Jonny Fairplay So Much He Briefly Banned Him From Survivor Despite Calling Him ‘A Producer’s Dream’
What did Survivor Villain Jonny Fairplay do that made Jeff Probst so mad he once banned him from the show?
While talking to Time, Jeff expressed his opinion that Donald Trump made the Presidential race uniquely like a reality show.
“I think it’s always been there, but this year’s campaign is definitely different. This year does seem to be unique in that, at times, it does feel as though we’re watching a reality show and not a presidential campaign, and I don’t ever remember feeling that way.”
Jeff then went on to talk to Time about how the 2016 Presidential debates got record ratings. While talking to the outlet, Jeff expressed his belief that so many people watched because they were interested in the spectacle of a reality TV presidential race and presidency.
“That can’t be because we’re all super interested in changing our country. Part of it has to be the promise of the great story that’s about to be told to us, the public spectacle we’re going to witness.”
Looking back at some of Jeff Probst’s remarks about Donald Trump over the years, it is fascinating to try and decipher how the Survivor host felt about the President.
Donald Trump
- Birthname
- Donald John Trump
- Birthdate
- June 14, 1946
- Birthplace
- Queens, New York City, New York, USA
- Members
- Wife: Melania Trump; Children: Barron Trump, Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Tiffany Trump, Eric Trump
- Height
- 6′ 2
- @realDonaldTrump
- Siblings
- Maryanne Trump Barry, Elizabeth Trump Grau, Fred Trump, Jr., Robert Trump
- Profession
- Political Figure
- Net worth
- $2,600,000,000
- Source of Wealth
- Businessman
- Nationality
- American
