Schwarzenegger taking over Trump’s old TV job
The reality TV programme that helped Donald Trump to build his fervent fan base has a new host: Arnold Schwarzenegger.
A trailer for the next series of The Celebrity Apprentice evokes the Terminator film franchise in which the former bodybuilder played a cyborg assassin from the future. It remains to be seen whether Schwarzenegger, 69, who later served as governor of California, will replace Trump’s signature line ‘‘You’re fired’’ with his Terminator character’s catchphrase: ‘‘Hasta la vista, baby.’’
Trump, 70, was replaced after NBC cut its ties with him last year for suggesting that Mexican immigrants to the United States were rapists.
The Apprentice rekindled Trump’s career when it debuted in 2004, after he had suffered a number of business setbacks. One critic called him ‘‘a downon-his-luck real estate promoter with a failing casino company whose mantra and appetites appeared to be stuck in a Reagan-era time warp’’ – but The Apprentice became an instant hit with American audiences.
It helped Trump to craft the persona around which he has built his presidential campaign: that of a brilliant businessman with an uncanny knack for spotting talent.
He claims to have earned nearly US$214 million from the show over the course of its 14 series. NBC, however, has said that this sum is grossly inaccurate.