Donald Trump wanted to keep “The Apprentice” in the family following his departure from the reality TV show in 2015.
In the new book “Apprentice in Wonderland,” author Ramin Setoodeh looks back on Trump’s years on the small screen before his decision to run for president. The tome also shares insight into who the politician wanted to replace him on the long-running NBC show.
“I said, ‘The best person to hire would be Ivanka Trump,’” Donald is quoted as saying in an excerpt obtained by Variety.
“I didn’t press it. But I felt Ivanka would have been by far the best person you could hire.”
Along with having his daughter at the helm, the 77-year-old wanted sons Eric and Don Trump Jr. to take over as boardroom advisers on the reality competition series.
“It was going to be the three of us,” Eric said in the book. “There were talks for a little while about it.”
The Trump children made regular appearances on the series during its later years, working alongside their famous father.
However, the network apparently “didn’t like” the former president’s suggestion, saying they didn’t want the show to become “a family thing” for the Trumps.
“But I said, ‘There’s nobody you’re going to hire that will come even close to Ivanka,'” Donald said. “They said, ‘Huh…’ And then they came back with Arnold Schwarzenegger.”
For more Page Six you love…
Rather than find jobs in the entertainment industry elsewhere, Donald’s adult children decided to follow him on the campaign trail.
“I think it’s pretty hard to say we’re going to run with reality TV in a time when you’re talking about ending nuclear proliferation around the world,” Eric said. “I’m not sure the two could have worked in tandem.”
Schwarzenegger ultimately replaced Trump as the host of “The New Celebrity Apprentice” in 2017. However, the show only ran for one season.
After the show was canceled, the then-president took to Twitter to slam the “Terminator” star for ruining the once-popular show.
“Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t voluntarily leaving the Apprentice, he was fired by his bad (pathetic) ratings, not by me. Sad end to great show,” Donald tweeted at the time.
However, the former bodybuilder later clapped back at Donald, suggesting that the show’s association with the controversial politician led to its demise.
“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,” he said during an interview with Empire.
Schwarzenegger also posted a video to Twitter suggesting that the two “switch jobs.”
“You take over TV because you’re such an expert in ratings and I take over your job and people can finally sleep comfortably,” he said.
“Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass” is set to hit the shelves on June 18.
