Schwarzenegger a TV ‘disaster’
Let us pray — for TV ratings. President Trump used an address at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday to bash his successor on “The Celebrity Apprentice” and to ask the gathering to pray for Arnold Schwarzenegger because of his low ratings. “The ratings went right down the tubes. It’s been a total disaster,” Trump said. “And I want to just pray for Arnold if we can, for those ratings.” Trump — who was introduced at Washington, DC, breakfast by the show’s creator, Mark Burnett — said it had been a “tremendous success” before he quit as host to run for the White House. He said the show hired a “big, big movie star” to replace him, adding, “We know how that turned out.” The “Terminator” star quickly responded with a video posted on Twitter.
“Hey, Donald, I have a great idea. Why don’t we 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,” the former California governor said in the clip.
Questioned about Trump’s comments, White House press secretary Sean Spicer urged the media to lighten up.
“He meant it as a lighthearted moment, and if you look at the totality of his remarks, they were absolutely beautiful,” he said at a White House briefing.
The breakfast, a tradition since 1953, wasn’t the first time Trump and Schwarzenegger clashed.
Trump, who retains an executive-producer credit, has been ripping Schwarzenegger’s ratings since the show premiered as “The New Celebrity Apprentice” on Jan. 2 with the actor as host.
“Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got ‘swamped’ (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT,” the president tweeted last month.
Schwarzenegger, who didn’t endorse Trump, replied to the tweet by wishing the presidentelect good luck and adding, “I hope you’ll work for ALL of the American people as aggressively as you worked for your ratings.”
He also reposted a video from Nov. 9 in which he congratulated Trump on his win and suggested he study President Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address.
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature,” Schwarzenegger quoted.
“The New Celebrity Apprentice” did debut with significantly lower ratings than Trump’s last season premiere in 2015 — down more than 43 percent.