Was Donald Trump abusive on the set of ‘The Apprentice’?

“You’re fired!” – words famously spoken by U.S. President Donald Trump on NBC’s The Apprentice. Trump played the role of the boss on The Apprentice for the first 14 seasons since the show’s debut in 2004. With his new job title, many are looking back at the President’s past conquests. 

Was controversial Donald Trump abusive on the set of The Apprentice? Let’s investigate. 

Don’t quit your day job

Donald Trump had a relatively successful time on The Apprentice. He was only meant to appear in its 2004 inaugural season, but NBCUniversal had other ideas for Trump. Those who took part in The Apprentice were only after one thing: a chance to to apprentice for billionaire Donald Trump. (What a prize!) 

In 2020, this might not be your ideal prize, but the chance to work for a titan such as Trump was a dream for thousands of applicants. The successor to The Apprentice was The Celebrity Apprentice, in which celebrities competed against each other to win for their chosen charities. 

Trump was not keen on the idea of not being the center of attention. A former NBC exec said, “I don’t think Donald will do Celebrity Apprentice because he needs to be the celebrity.” This wasn’t the only time he was allegedly unorderly behind the scenes.

Money to burn

Self-proclaimed billionaire Donald Trump is never short for change and everyone knows it. After receiving that all-important small loan from his father Fred Trump of $1 million – Donald built an empire. That didn’t stop the businessman from seeking even more from The Apprentice. 

According to The Times analysis, Trump made $197 million from the show and another $230 million from publicity & sponsors during the show’s success. When The Apprentice debuted in 2004, his main business suffered a huge net loss of $90 million. (Talk about good timing.) 

It’s easy to see why Donald Trump continued working on The Apprentice for 14 seasons, totaling an impressive 192 episodes. Arnold Schwarzenegger took over Trump’s duties after he left, and by 2017, it was revealed Trump’s income was declining.

Bad penny

The Hollywood Reporter has reported that Donald Trump was a nightmare on set, according to those who worked on The Apprentice. “Trump was always a nightmare,” says a network insider. “He tried to get the showrunners fired every other day. One of them was in the hot seat at all times.” 

It’s almost as if Donald Trump was taking advice from the queen of mean Ellen DeGeneres on how to create a toxic workplace. Allegedly, Trump wanted everything about him. “He was obsessed with making boardroom scenes longer. He wanted that to be 80-90 percent of the show. It should just be the boardroom and not the task. He wanted more face time and more of himself on TV.”

Trump had boardroom advisers George Ross & Carolyn Kepcher fired in 2006. It’s was reported he was jealous of Ross. “George was getting so much attention. He became such a big character in the show. Trump got really jealous and pushed him out.” Trump’s big, blonde head grew even larger over the course of The Apprentice and NBC saw him as “money in the bank.”

When NBC execs wanted Donald Trump to stay on The Apprentice, he took the opportunity to demand even more money. A $500,000 donation was requested to help persuade him to stay out of the presidential race. NBC agreed and Trump announced: “I will not be running for president, as much as I’d like to, and I want to thank everybody very much.”

This didn’t stop Donald Trump from running for president, and in 2015 he went ahead and announced his bid. “He never expected to get any traction. He was doing it to boost his own brand.” Now we have President Donald Trump sitting in the Oval Office, while The Apprentice had its final season in 2017.

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What do you think of Donald Trump’s toxic workplace behavior? Did you enjoy seeing Trump on The Apprentice? Let us know below!