14 DAY TRIAL // When he announced his Presidential run, real estate mogul and television personality Donald Trump hinted that the commitment might make it impossible for him to keep his previous ones, including that of hosting NBC’s reality show Celebrity Apprentice - meaning the show that allowed him to coin the famous phrase “You’re fired!”
By summer, after a series of controversial comments on illegal immigrants coming to the US from Mexico, NBC was eager to disassociate themselves from him, so their first move was to fire him as host of the show. Trump responded by suing them for breach of contract.
NBC has found its new host, in the person of former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Arnie is in, The Donald is out
In a statement to Deadline, NBC confirms the new addition to the show. The announcement is somewhat surprising considering that there had been no rumors of talks between Arnold and NBC bosses for the gig, but not really so if you consider his underwhelming comeback to acting.
Once he was done with politics, Arnie said he would return to his first love, Hollywood, but the movies he put out turned out to be the worst received releases of his career. “Terminator: Genisys,” which came out earlier this year, managed to make enough money at the box office to save face, but only after opening in China.
This was Arnie’s most iconic role ever and the reboot was trashed by critics and fans alike. Chances are he might not be tempted to come back for a sequel, even if one is greenlit.
For the time being, he will be focusing on branching out in TV, taking over from Trump as the host of the show.
“We are thrilled to be opening a powerful new chapter in the story of the Apprentice franchise,” NBC says. “Arnold Schwarzenegger is the epitome of a global brand in entertainment and business, and his accomplishments in the political arena speak for themselves. It was Arnold’s personal passion for the format that Mark Burnett and Donald Trump built over the last decade, as well as his fresh take on how to take it to new heights for today’s audiences, that made him the man to hire. The Celebrity Apprentice… will be back!”
Trump is rooting for Arnold
Rumor has it that the show might relocate to Los Angeles now that Arnold is hosting, and even that producers are hoping they might be able to get his model son Patrick to appear a few times, to draw in the younger audience.
While this is in the realm of speculation for the time being, one thing is clear: Donald Trump has no ill feelings towards his replacement, which means that his feud remains, for the time being, with NBC bosses.
You can see his tweets on the topic below. He’s actually happy for Arnold to be taking over, because he is positive he will do an awesome job at raising the money for charity.
To all my fans, sorry I couldn’t do The Apprentice any longer—but equal time (presidential run) prohibits me from doing so. Love!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2015Congrats to my friend @Schwarzenegger who is doing next season’s Celebrity Apprentice. He'll be great & will raise lots of $ for charity.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2015Wow. I'm blown away and honored by all your tweets. I can't wait to bring my experience to the board room & raise millions for charity.
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) September 14, 2015