Did Trump Win Feud With Arnold Schwarzenegger? Former Governor Says He's Leaving 'The Celebrity Apprentice'
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told NBC Friday he's leaving "The Celebrity Apprentice," which he hosted for only one season. Schwarzenegger, mocked by President Donald Trump about the ratings of the TV reality show, said it was one of the instances that prompted his decision.
"Even if asked [to do it again] I would decline,” Schwarzenegger told Empire magazine. "I learned a lot, I had a great time, it was a really great opportunity. But under the circumstances, I don’t want to do it again. With Trump being involved in the show, people have a bad taste and don’t want to participate as a spectator or sponsor or in any other way support the show. It’s a very divisive period right now and I think the show got caught up in all that division."
Schwarzenegger's ratings as host of "The Apprentice" did, in fact, drop compared when Trump previously hosted it, which was something Trump often took pains to remind him of. The actor, however, blamed the poor ratings on the president, who is apparently still the executive producer of the show.
“It’s not about the show,” Schwarzenegger said. “Because everyone I ran into came up to me and said ‘I love the show…but I turned it off as I read Trump’s name I’m outta there.’ When people found out that Trump was still involved as executive producer and was still receiving money from the show, then half the people [started] boycotting it.”
In January, Trump tweeted about the show saying, "Now compare him to my season 1. But who cares, he supported Kasich & Hillary."
Trump did not stop there. Last month, during the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump spoke again about the poor ratings of the reality show.
"We know how that turned out," Trump said. "The ratings went right down the tubes. It has been a disaster."
"I want to just pray for Arnold ... for those ratings," Trump said to the audience.
"Hey Donald, I have a great idea," Schwarzenegger said via a Twitter video in response to Trump's prayer. "You take over TV, because you're such an expert in ratings, and I take over your job. And then people can finally sleep comfortable again. Hmm?"
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