Sunday Star-Times

Arnie responds to ratings swipe

- Donald Trump on Twitter LA Times

With his inaugurati­on just two weeks away, United States President-elect Donald Trump has a lot on his plate. But that didn’t stop the future commander-in-chief from taking a moment yesterday to offer his thoughts on the ratings for The New Celebrity Apprentice.

‘‘Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzene­gger got ‘swamped’ (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT,’’ Trump wrote on Twitter, criticisin­g replacemen­t host Schwarzene­gger while also referring to himself in the third person.

‘‘So much for . . . being a movie star – and that was season 1 compared to season 14. Now compare him to my season 1. But who cares, he supported Kasich & Hillary.’’

Even though he remains an executive producer of the NBC reality series, Trump appears to be holding a grudge against the former California governor, who stated in October that he would not be voting Republican in the presidenti­al election.

‘‘As proud as I am to label myself a Republican, there is one label that I hold above all else – American,’’ Schwarzene­gger said.

As for the ratings, Trump is correct that there was a significan­t drop from season 14 of The Celebrity Apprentice, which debuted to 6.31 Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzene­gger got ‘swamped’ (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT. million viewers and a 2.4 rating among 18- to-49-year-olds. The New Celebrity Apprentice managed only 4.9 million viewers and a 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demographi­c.

Schwarzene­gger rebuffed Trump’s criticisms by gently directing the business magnate back to the business at hand: running the country. He couldn’t resist a zinger, though.

‘‘I wish you the best of luck and I hope you’ll work for ALL of the American people as aggressive­ly as you worked for your ratings,’’ Schwarzene­gger tweeted.

The Terminator star then referred Trump to President Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugurati­on speech, where he appealed for a return to the ‘‘better angels of our nature’’. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton and harm her electabili­ty and potential presidency. President-elect Trump.’’

Putin most likely wanted to discredit Clinton because he blamed her for inciting mass protests against his regime in late 2011 and early 2012, and because he resented her for disparagin­g comments she had made about him, the report said.

It said the Russian effort was the ‘‘boldest yet’’ intended to affect a US election.

The report was released shortly after intelligen­ce officials finished briefing Trump– a move probably

 ?? REUTERS ?? Donald Trump has declined to say whether he accepts the assertions in the report.
REUTERS Donald Trump has declined to say whether he accepts the assertions in the report.
 ?? REUTERS ?? Arnold Schwarzene­gger has rebuffed Donald Trump’s criticism of his former reality TV show.
REUTERS Arnold Schwarzene­gger has rebuffed Donald Trump’s criticism of his former reality TV show.

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