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You are here: Home / Open Threads / I Guess 20 Years Wasn’t Quite Long Enough! Open Thread

I Guess 20 Years Wasn’t Quite Long Enough! Open Thread

by | 119 Comments

This post is in: 

I don’t have much to say about this other than that I hope this hurts Trump with at least some potential voters.

You can read the story at the link, listen to the audio version, or check out the transcript.  (Transcript does not appear to be complete, but I only glanced at it.)

The Donald Trump I Saw on The Apprentice

For 20 years, I couldn’t say what I watched the former president do on the set of the show that changed everything. Now I can.

BY BILL PRUITT

On Jan. 8, 2004, just more than 20 years ago, the first episode of The Apprentice aired. It was called “Meet the Billionaire,” and 18 million people watched. The episodes that followed climbed to roughly 20 million each week. A staggering 28 million viewers tuned in to watch the first season finale. The series won an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program, and the Television Critics Association called it one of the best TV shows of the year, alongside The Sopranos and Arrested Development. The series—alongside its bawdy sibling, The Celebrity Apprentice—appeared on NBC in coveted prime-time slots for more than a decade.

The Apprentice was an instant success in another way too. It elevated Donald J. Trump from sleazy New York tabloid hustler to respectable household name. In the show, he appeared to demonstrate impeccable business instincts and unparalleled wealth, even though his businesses had barely survived multiple bankruptcies and faced yet another when he was cast. By carefully misleading viewers about Trump—his wealth, his stature, his character, and his intent—the competition reality show set about an American fraud that would balloon beyond its creators’ wildest imaginations.

I should know. I was one of four producers involved in the first two seasons. During that time, I signed an expansive nondisclosure agreement that promised a fine of $5 million and even jail time if I were to ever divulge what actually happened. It expired this year.

No one involved in The Apprentice—from the production company or the network, to the cast and crew—was involved in a con with malicious intent. It was a TV show, and it was made for entertainment. I still believe that. But we played fast and loose with the facts, particularly regarding Trump, and if you were one of the 28 million who tuned in, chances are you were conned.

As Trump answers for another of his alleged deception schemes in New York and gears up to try to persuade Americans to elect him again, in part thanks to the myth we created, I can finally tell you what making Trump into what he is today looked like from my side. Most days were revealing. Some still haunt me, two decades later.

Transcript

What do you think?  Timing is everything; can this hurt Trump?

 

Reader Interactions

119Comments

  1. 1.

    trollhattan

    Straight up, no: Strengthens his “one of us!” credentials among the faithful.

    That Hillary, though, what a monster.

  2. 2.

    Mathguy

    This won’t hurt him at all. I can’t figure out what it would take to get rid of this carbuncle on the ass of America.

  3. 3.

    Matt McIrvin

    I’ve stopped publicly speculating about such things. I have no idea what will or will not hurt him at this point.

  4. 4.

    Baud

    Wondering whether something will hurt Trump helps ensure that it won’t.

    That said, they’ve been actively trying to fool more black voters the way they’ve fooled their base, so maybe this will help blunt that effort at the margins.

  5. 5.

    rikyrah

    It won’t hurt him with his cult. After all, hating all the right groups is the #1 reason why they support him.

     

    But, maybe, it will shut up some of his stenographers in the MSM.

  6. 6.

    SpaceUnit

    Listening right now, but I just want to mention how much I resent audio files that offer no volume control or any indication how long the program is.

  7. 7.

    WaterGirl

    My hope is there is much more to this than “he used the N-word” and that it exposes Trump as the fraud he is, and has always been.

  8. 8.

    Shana

    Anyone else having trouble with the link? I get the message that Safari can’t open because of an invalid link.

  9. 9.

    the pollyanna from hell

    First impression of transcript: All milked for sensation and drained of evidence or persuasion.

  10. 10.

    Parfigliano

    Actual recordings of him saying N-word I think would hurt him.  No boys being boys…locker room talk for the media to hide behind there.

  11. 11.

    Jeffro

    It certainly doesn’t help trumpov.  It probably helps President Biden a bit here and there – a few white votes lost to write-in Saint Ronnie, a few black votes regained/recommitted.

    But in terms of big movement one way or another, the GOP’s half of the electoral cake seems baked: trumpov’s supporters are too far down the spiral now to snap out of it*, or have a sudden attack of conscience or something.  It’s a “benefit” to having no standards whatsoever, I guess.

    *I still think the stolen documents case, had it proceeded on schedule, would have seriously cracked the GOP by now – such an obvious betrayal of the country, and so obviously done for either future $$$ or blackmail purposes.

  12. 12.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: If this guy had recordings this story could really hurt Trump. If it’s just recollections, maybe mot so much.

    But this story reminds me of what I thought might have been an opportunity missed in 2016. There were stories out about Trump visiting the dressing room of a Junior Miss America contest he was staging. The women said it was creepy.

    I thought if the Dems could gotten them on camera it could have made an effective ad. But those women are still around, so maybe that ad could still be made.

  13. 13.

    Old School

    Without the video, it’s easier to dismiss.

    Of course, even with the video, his supporters will just call it “fake.” But it would have more of an effect.

  14. 14.

    AM in NC

    I think this would have definitely helped in 2016, not so much now.  If the tapes ever make an appearance, I think it will help now, however.  That racist term coming directly from Trump’s gob might move a few “suburban Whites” to disengage from the grossness.   And hopefully move some of the misogynistic black men saying they are going to vote for Trump back to voting for Biden (although I don’t buy that huge numbers are defecting to Trump in the first place).

    ANYTHING and everything that reminds Americans of just how depraved and incompetent Trump really is, is good.

  15. 15.

    JML

    this has always been part of the danger with someone like TFG: he’s so well-known that everyone already has an opinion on him. There’s very little persuading that goes on, and very little that changes anyone’s mind. but because he’s outrageous, he draws ratings, clicks, etc so the media loves him and can’t ever get away from doing the single worst thing you can do to a narcissistic bastard like him: ignore him. he just continues to suck up all the oxygen out of the room.

    It’s not going to hurt him: his base will lap up the stuff they like and call the rest lies by someone “jealous” or “liberal” or whatever. The media will cover it, but will either downplay it or ensure that they compare it to Biden’s memory or stutter or something to normalize it and act like TFG’s deviancy is somehow equal to biden, democrats, or something, because all they care about is the next book deal, the next ratings cycle, and the ability to dictate to others.

  16. 16.

    Brachiator

    What do you think? Timing is everything; can this hurt Trump?

    No, it can’t hurt him. The mythology of Trump is more firmly rooted than is the reality of Trump.

  17. 17.

    NeenerNeener

    Comedian Noel Casler has been talking about all of this on Twitter/X since Donny first rode the escalator down to announce his candidacy in 2015; he used to be part of the production crew on “The Apprentice”. I wonder why Trump never went after him, except suing Casler would have given a whole lot of attention to what he was saying, and audio evidence could be produced. As it was, Casler was basically just shouting into the wind on Twitter for years.

  18. 18.

    RandomMonster

    @WaterGirl: My hope is there is much more to this than “he used the N-word” and that it exposes Trump as the fraud he is, and has always been.

    Unless there is video/audio, it will just remain “something a former producer said”…

  19. 19.

    Jay

    @Geminid:

    Because it’s a “Game Show/Contest” with a significant prize, everything, from script deliberations, conversations about scene layout, to all the backstage, and stage events, have to be filmed and recorded, and archived away forever, to ensure that there is no cheating/rigging/fraud going on.

    A “vault” leak could happen, but I would not count on it or expect such a leak to effect less than 1% of the votes.

  21. 21.

    SenyorDave

    No video, nothing this guy says will make a difference.  If there were actual video of Tuump using the n word, especially repeatedly, it would be a major story.

  22. 22.

    lowtechcyclist

    Since the “grab ‘em by the p***y” tape didn’t hurt him, it’s hard to see what will. At most, I would hope his use of the n-word would keep him from making inroads among Black men.

    That’s ’hope.’ Can’t say I’m sure of anything these days.

  23. 23.

    Geminid

    @AM in NC: How’s North Carolina looking for November? I think Biden lost by 80,000 in 2020, and that was Trump’s closest win. Biden’s people seem like they’re in it to win it this time, and they started building an organization last Fall.

  24. 24.

    HumboldtBlue

    Hurt Trump how? With who? The media will ignore this and point out Biden hasn’t been apologetic enough and sympathetic enough with the average Joe, and it’s really going to cost him in November because he’s losing black and brown men and the economy is in the tank and inflation is all his fault according to the shit polling they spew into the media-sphere.

    Trump could rape a child on camera and his base would still support him, and that’s not conjecture, that’s reality. His base doesn’t give a flying fuck what he’s done or what he continues to do, and the media continues to normalize it.

    So fuck no, it won’t hurt him at all.

  26. 26.

    hitchhiker

    I’ve never seen so much as a 30 second clip of The Apprentice, or Celebrity Apprentice. Just one of many reasons I have no insight into trump voters. Who would watch that shit? Why?

  27. 27.

    Dangerman

    Won’t hurt him at all. Even if video leaks. Only thing that might harm him is he drops his pants* in Times Square and waves to the crowd.

    *Might get him Baud’s vote.

  29. 29.

    Omnes Omnibus

    People fucking need to stop considering whether something will affect his popularity with MAGA.  They aren’t in play.  They were never in play.  This kind of thing cannot help him with ordinary people.  His reputation may be baked in with most people, but no one who wasn’t there already is going to move toward him because of this.  On the margins, where things count, this is not good for him.

  30. 30.

    zhena gogolia

    Okay, since everyone’s so sure it won’t hurt Trump, let me say that if this gets some play it would hurt Trump with people who might be flirting with the idea of voting for him. Not the cult, but he can’t win with just the cult. I feel as if I’m repeating something that’s been said here 1000 times, but I guess it’s worth saying here since no one else is.

    ETA: I see GMTA, OO.

  40. 40.

    dmsilev

    TPM’s liveblog:

    Merchan said the jury note came at 4:20 p.m. ET. He has now left the courtroom.

    Trump and his attorneys suddenly look less happy.

    Heh.

  41. 41.

    ArchTeryx

    @SiubhanDuinne: I’m seriously hoping this is where I get to eat crow. Convicting TFG of money diddling may not move much, but it officially makes the bastard a criminal. I’m down with that a whole lot more than I’m down with my own ego.

  52. 52.

    RandomMonster

    @Baud: I guess we’ll find out if the smiling juror was a ringer or not.

    I’m hoping the early verdict indicates it’s not a hung jury.

  54. 54.

    catclub

    @WaterGirl: exposes Trump as the fraud he is,

     

    Why would a billionaire take a job for a measly $20M/year? Because he isn’t.

  64. 64.

    RandomMonster

    @zeecube: well, my work productivity just went to zilch.

    I’m in a video call and I haven’t heard a word that was said for the last 10 minutes.

  65. 65.

    Baud

    If I were the judge, I’d hold off the reading of the verdict until tomorrow just to fuck with everyone.

  66. 66.

    dmsilev

    @smith: Definitely. As I understand it, the jury is supposed to tell the judge that they’re deadlocked, he responds by more or less telling them to figure it out and reach a consensus, and only if they’re still deadlocked after that do you get a formal hung jury.

  67. 67.

    Jeffro

    <quickly checking the contents of the ‘beverage fridge’ in the garage…yup, we’re good and stocked!>

    whew

    ok then, jury, let’s have it!  ;)

  68. 68.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Omnes Omnibus: I was busy yesterday crushing the hopes and dreams of the proletariat, but I assume that in my absence no one took any cheap shots at me. Right?

  77. 77.

    dmsilev

    So, umm, I have a departmental meeting in ten minutes. Do you think it would be bad form to scream out either “YESSSSS” or “NOOOOOOOO” depending on what the verdict ends up being?

  78. 78.

    WaterGirl

    @Omnes Omnibus:  @zhena gogolia:  I appreciate the perspective, even if it’s been said 1,000 times.

    It’s easy for people to get in the mindset that nothing will hurt Trump.

    Nothing hurts Trump. Until something does!

    You know we like to say “a million dollars here, a million dollars, there, pretty soon we’re talking about real money.”

    I think the same thing could apply to Trump.  A conviction here, even a hung jury there where 10 or 11 people on the jury think he’s guilty, saying the n-word on tape, pretty soon some people who tell themselves he’s not so bad, or “he doesn’t mean it when he says that”, may stay home or vote for Biden.

  87. 87.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @lowtechcyclist: The Access Hollywood tape was purposely knee-capped by Progressive champion and journalist, Julian Assange and his Putin-assisted WikiLeaks dump.  But that doesn’t mean “Grab ’em by the pu**y” didn’t hurt Trump.  People like my Dad, who voted for every Republican in the past 50 years, decided not to vote for Trump (while voting straight R, otherwise down the ballot) and my guess that things like the Access Hollywood tape played a significant role in their decision.  I’ve never asked my Dad, because it’s not really a conversation I want to open.  But this current article, along with Trump’s NY trial etc., may help keep people like my Dad from voting for Trump.  In elections that come down to only 70K votes, it doesn’t take much to swing the result.  I doubt this article brings Trump any supporters and it likely turns some away.  Enough to matter?  Who knows.

  88. 88.

    Jeffro

    some wit on Twitter:

    anyone with some bad news to bury is hereby advised to release it NOW

  94. 94.

    Scout211

    (NBC) The Trump table has gone from smiling to looking sour. They are very serious now and Trump has his armed crossed in front of his chest.

    Trump and Blanche occasionally whisper to each other. Trump looks resigned and any levity seems to have dissipated from the defense table. His attorneys are hardly speaking now.

  98. 98.

    RandomMonster

    On NBC’s live blog:

    The Trump table has gone from smiling to looking sour. They are very serious now and Trump has his armed crossed in front of his chest.
    Trump and Blanche occasionally whisper to each other. Trump looks resigned and any levity seems to have dissipated from the defense table. His attorneys are hardly speaking now.

  102. 102.

    Scout211

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and and his team have entered the courtroom.
    They are occupying an entire row of seats.

  107. 107.

    zeecube

    @TBone: sitting in my home office at my desktop with TV on in background, with 2 dogs and 2 cats, wondering whether to chill the champagne to go with my strawberry rhubarb pie ….

    edited:  and enjoying BJ comments as we wait …..

  109. 109.

    Tony Jay

    @Jeffro:

    Like, admitting that those bones found in the back garden weren’t really from an elderly monkey and the annoying neighbour didn’t really run off to join a passing Circus?

    Better out than in.

  110. 110.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Anybody think TIFG will drift off to snoozeland while the jury is being polled on the verdict? He’s back in the courtroom now, so MAYBE.

  111. 111.

    MazeDancer

    If they were letting him walk, wouldn’t take 30 minutes to fill in form.

    Feels like they are convicting on some, letting him walk on others. Will take it.

  114. 114.

    ArchTeryx

    @SiubhanDuinne: All I want for Christmas is to see Trump behind bars. I’d sit in a dunk tank all day and let Omnes throw baseballs at me if it meant TFG had to campaign from a jail cell.

    Him getting convicted but not ending up in jail is still a close second. Means he’s, according to the justice system, a fucking criminal. That’s also worth a whole lot to me.

  117. 117.

    wjca

    @Omnes Omnibus: This kind of thing cannot help him with ordinary people.  His reputation may be baked in with most people, but no one who wasn’t there already is going to move toward him because of this.  On the margins, where things count, this is not good for him.

    There is way too much focus on how his base will forgive him anything.  His MAGAt base is down around a quarter of the electorate.

    What matters is the impact one the other quarter of the electorate, who may have voted for him, but don’t live full time in Crazyville.  As you say, this won’t help him with them.  It’s probably true that no one thing will have much impact on his support there.  But at some point, the accumulation will reach a tipping point.  For that, every little bit helps.

  118. 118.

    Ruckus

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    This.

    We’ve been seeing and listening to him for what, over 8 yrs now. If you didn’t know or care who and what he has been his entire life, you aren’t going to start now. The people that like him either do not believe anything negative about him or they LIKE it. Humanity is a wide ranging conglomeration of humans, some like shitty humans and some don’t. It shouldn’t take much contemplation to figure out who’s who. The biggest deal here is that he’s got more trials and tribulations left to pile on to his totally corrupt loser self. And I’d bet that his base won’t leave him till long after he takes his last breath.

  119. 119.

    Princess

    @Omnes Omnibus: Amen. Stuff like this gives people who want an excuse not to vote for him, that excuse — They’re the voters who are potentially gettable anyway. Who cares what the true believers think of him?

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