Donald Trump adviser defends ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ executive producer credit
Yesterday, the news first started to spread that Donald Trump, despite no longer having a clear-cut relationship with NBC, would remain on “The Celebrity Apprentice” as an executive producer and receive a small fee as a result. This news absolutely comes across as controversial, given the fact that it seemed well over a year ago that NBC was cutting off virtual all business tie with the current President-elect.
We should start here by saying that this move doesn’t mean Trump will have any direct involvement with the series at all; it may just be a legacy thing since he is one of the main reasons the franchise lasted this long. Yet, at the same exact time the primary problem here may just be what the move represents more so than his actual role; people who watched “The Celebrity Apprentice” previously as ironic entertainment, not imagining that someday Trump would become the leader of the free world, may not be that interested in watching a show with his involvement. We’ve already said that we remain committed to covering the show, but at the same time we understand if certain people would not be interested in doing anything that comes across as a vote of confidence to the President-elect.
In addition to this question many viewers are asking, there are always questions about conflicts of interest, and whether or not Trump should have any sort of producing role while being in office. Speaking on CNN’s “New Day,” his adviser and former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway — who made so many appearances on these shows trying to defend Trump that there is an entire “Saturday Night Live” sketch about it — had the following to say:
“Everyone can see what he’s doing, and the fact is that he is conferring with all types of experts who tell him what he can do and not do as President of the United States. If this [show] is one of the approved activities, then perhaps he will consider staying on.”
Conway also compared this gig to playing golf or any other hobby that a President can do, which produced a pretty interesting reaction in the interview.
In the end, we don’t think this story is as big of a deal in terms of the show or Trump’s job as a President; the biggest way it’s an issue simply comes in whether or not keeping Trump’s name on the show turns out to be a mistake.
The new “Celebrity Apprentice” premieres on NBC next month; head over here to read some further news about it right now. (Photo: NBC.)