"The Donald Trump I Saw on The Apprentice"

[Nevilledog]

https://slate.com/culture/2024/05/donald-trump-news-2024-trial-verdict-apprentice.html

No paywall link
https://archive.li/8X5HR


On Jan. 8, 2004, just more than 20 years ago, the first episode of The Apprentice aired. It was called “Meet the Billionaire,” and 18 million people watched. The episodes that followed climbed to roughly 20 million each week. A staggering 28 million viewers tuned in to watch the first season finale. The series won an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program, and the Television Critics Association called it one of the best TV shows of the year, alongside The Sopranos and Arrested Development. The series—alongside its bawdy sibling, The Celebrity Apprentice—appeared on NBC in coveted prime-time slots for more than a decade.

The Apprentice was an instant success in another way too. It elevated Donald J. Trump from sleazy New York tabloid hustler to respectable household name. In the show, he appeared to demonstrate impeccable business instincts and unparalleled wealth, even though his businesses had barely survived multiple bankruptcies and faced yet another when he was cast. By carefully misleading viewers about Trump—his wealth, his stature, his character, and his intent—the competition reality show set about an American fraud that would balloon beyond its creators’ wildest imaginations.

I should know. I was one of four producers involved in the first two seasons. During that time, I signed an expansive nondisclosure agreement that promised a fine of $5 million and even jail time if I were to ever divulge what actually happened. It expired this year.

No one involved in The Apprentice—from the production company or the network, to the cast and crew—was involved in a con with malicious intent. It was a TV show, and it was made for entertainment. I still believe that. But we played fast and loose with the facts, particularly regarding Trump, and if you were one of the 28 million who tuned in, chances are you were conned.

As Trump answers for another of his alleged deception schemes in New York and gears up to try to persuade Americans to elect him again, in part thanks to the myth we created, I can finally tell you what making Trump into what he is today looked like from my side. Most days were revealing. Some still haunt me, two decades later.

*snip*

[intrepidity]

1. "Why now?" Here's why

I should know. I was one of four producers involved in the first two seasons. During that time, I signed an expansive nondisclosure agreement that promised a fine of $5 million and even jail time if I were to ever divulge what actually happened. It expired this year.

How many NDAs have contributed to the making of this monster?

[Aristus]

2. The way I see it is, if people tuned in to watch, they tuned in to be conned.

Anyone with a functioning brain knew long before 2004 that Trump was a lower form of life than a planarian.

[stopdiggin]

7. +1. Sorry - if you were a fan of The Apprentice ...

that says pretty much all I need to know ...

[SunSeeker]

16. Right? The shitbag made my skin crawl from day 1.

I could never sit through a show. It was so obvious he was a gaslighting megalomaniac. He only impressed stupid people. I have always found him repugnant--before I even knew about his racist past (the Exonerated 5, discrimination against black renters, etc.).

[highplainsdem]

3. Stunning read. Thanks for posting this, Nevilledog!

[underpants]

4. 👀 Yes it is. Finishing it over lunch

I saw a recap earlier today. It was politicsusa which is pure crap. I’m glad I could read the whole thing.

[Nevilledog]

5. ...

[Hugin]

6. Yet, I never viewed an episode...

I’m not judging those who did, it’s just that I got my fill of that bullshit in daily life. I didn’t need to see it on a show.

[malaise]

11. Ditto

Rec

[PatSeg]

14. I never saw a single episode either

I'm not a huge fan of reality TV and The Apprentice looked especially fake.

[TSExile]

19. Ditto.

I never watched a second of that show and am proud of it!!!

[Botany]

8. How much Russian money was behind the Apprentice? Trump wasn't a billionaire or a business genius.

Putin always play the long game. End of story. And if he had to invent a man like Trump in order
to rat fuck America then so be it.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

9. I watched a few of those episodes.

It was obvious to anyone with half a brain and even the slightest business experience that he had no clue how to run a business. He hired and fired people solely on how they kissed up to him. He told contestants that they had to drop whatever they were doing and fawn all over him while ignoring their paying customers. It was a joke.

[Ray Bruns]

12. You mean it wasn't real? I'm shocked. Shocked!

https://m.

[SunSeeker]

10. K & R

[NoMoreRepugs]

13. Think Reagan, Schwarzenegger - anybody from the Big Screen or TEEVEE appeals to a certain segment of the population.

Despite being buffoons.

[PatSeg]

15. Thanks for posting the gift link

I especially found it interesting that initially, the show was to have a different "billionaire" each season, but unfortunately Trump was the only one to accept the offer, so the world got a decade of him on their TV screens.

I wonder how different the world would be today if Trump's "Apprentice" had only been one season.

[NanaCat]

21. Real billionaires

Are too busy running their business empires to waste time filming a TV show.

[PatSeg]

23. Exactly

Not everyone is a shameless show-boater.

[mahina]

17. Outstanding. I am taken by the point at the end, then if you want to manipulate signal, turn up the noise

That is awfully familiar

[Faux pas]

18. Kickin"

for later

[nolabear]

20. Thanks for posting this. It's quite the read.

It’s a walk down memory lane. I’ve always had a soft spot for a carnival, for the house of mirrors and the gaffe. But the fun is that you know, and are fooled anyway, and in the end everybody enjoys the game. That empty, shell of a man thinks the con is all there is. Nobody is respected, nobody exempt, no line is uncrossable. It’s all the same, no matter who you are, contractor or fiancée. If he can screw you he will. Damn the consequences for you.

Nothing is news. The shock is how many still love the high of being part of the sham and will never, ever understand that they too are nothing but marks.

[Hekate]

22. KnR