INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Donald Trump ‘Never’ Returning To ‘The Apprentice’ According To NBC

By Niki Cruz
Published on: 09:16 PST, Aug 2, 2016

It’s hard to picture a time where Donald Trump wasn’t the Republican nominee for President, but just a short while back, Trump ruled NBC as the host of the popular reality show The Apprentice. Trump of course had to step down from his role as host due to his candidacy, but NBC decided to continue on without him, announcing Arnold Schwarzenegger as his successor.

Whether or not Trump wins the election, it’s said that NBC doesn’t want him back on the show. NBC’s Robert Greenblatt didn’t mince words when he was asked by Entertainment Weekly about whether or not they planned for Mr. Trump to make his return to The Apprentice after the race was over.

“No. He would never be back on Celebrity Apprentice, as long as I’m here.”

Greenblatt was also asked whether or not Trump’s celebrity helped him capture America. The NBC head shared some interesting thoughts, citing that former actor Ronald Reagan’s image definitely helped from his previous acting career, when he went on to become President.

“I think it’s surprised all of us that he would want to do this, but I guess that’s what’s great about this country. But I don’t think that there’s really that much of a correlation, one to the other. I think he’s been a prominent figure for so many years that it’s probably not surprising that he would embark on this kind of journey.”

As we know, Trump and NBC had a tumultuous relationship since his remarks about illegal immigrants hit airwaves. When he announced his candidacy he had highlighted illegal immigrants as one of America’s biggest problems. During the speech, he singled out Mexicans saying, “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

Right after his comments went viral, Univision and NBC announced that they had decided to cut ties with Trump. Trump owned Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants for years before all parties parted ways with Mr. Trump.

NBC Universal issued a statement announcing the decision:

“At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values. Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump. To that end, the annual Miss USA and Miss Universe Pageants, which are part of a joint venture between NBC and Trump, will no longer air on NBC.”

Trump immediately issued a statement saying, “Their contract-violating closure of Miss Universe/Miss USA will be determined in court.”

Trump’s “off color” comments didn’t start with the announcement of his run for president. In fact, as the Inquisitr reported, Trump initially wanted to pit races against each other for a season of The Apprentice. At the time, he said he wasn’t happy with the recent 2005 season of The Apprentice.

“‘To be honest, I wasn’t particularly happy with the most recent season. So this time around, I wanted to do the casting myself. ‘An idea that is fairly controversial – creating a team of successful African-Americans versus a team of successful whites. Whether people like that idea or not, it is somewhat reflective of our very vicious world.'”

As for the upcoming season of The Apprentice, Donald Trump liked his replacement over at NBC. Back when the news was announced, he tweeted the following.

Are you surprised that NBC doesn’t want Donald Trump back?

[Photo by AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster]

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