The braid of Amazon and Donald Trump grows tighter. Prime Video announced last week that it would stream the first seven seasons of The Apprentice, t
The braid of Amazon and Donald Trump grows tighter. Prime Video announced last week that it would stream the first seven seasons of The Apprentice, the boardroom reality show that resurrected Trump’s cultural relevance when it premiered in 2004. (This deal is likely to directly line the pockets of Trump, who not only starred in the show but also served as an executive producer, even retaining that credit during his first year in the White House, when The New Celebrity Apprentice aired with Arnold Schwarzenegger as host.) Meanwhile, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose company contributed $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, is earning praise from the president for his recent moves at The Washington Post, such as neutering the editorial staff. Amazon has also entered into a $40 million licensing agreement for a documentary about first lady Melania’s life, which will reportedly see her earn at least $28 million. Democracy dies in backroom deals at the hands of shadowy billionaires.
It’s a bad trip revisiting The Apprentice today—watching Trump hawk his show from the base of the Statue of Liberty. A Gallup poll measuring Trump’s reputation before the show revealed that 98% of people surveyed knew his name, but 58% viewed him unfavorably. We the people gave the dog back his teeth. As an audience, we were seduced by his mean-spirited catchphrase and illusion of authority. Yet he seemed harmless enough as a TV star, like the charismatic uncle at family dinner who would pick up the check if the table let him tell the same venerable stories. His hair has forever been his business card. He loved showing contestants his hairline so that they could marvel that it was real.
There’s always been an undertone of menace around Trump. But on The Apprentice, his shifting moods and leering once-overs of female contestants were softened by the fun he was clearly having. His only role on the show was to preen and slice people off at the knees. Firing people gave Trump such pleasure. He loved pitting members of the losing team against one another in final deliberations, goading them to go after one another. His side of the boardroom table was like the emperor’s balcony; the other, the gladiator ring. “She’s killing you,” Trump would say. “You’re getting destroyed.” “Everybody’s killing you, you’re done.”
Occasionally, someone would impress Trump with a bit of clever spin. Rewatching the show, I could see him flipping positions in real time, like how a toddler can change their mood if they’re served dinner with the wrong spoon. Being impressed by people seemed to annoy him; he would sucks in his cheeks and give a begrudging nod. Any expression of vulnerability or ambivalence or pushback incurred his wrath. “How stupid can you be?” he’d ask in what seemed like nearly every episode. Adulation of self and disdain for others were his two home bases.
During my nauseating rewatch, it was fascinating to note how morally offended Trump got in season six after a contestant self-deprecatingly referred to himself as “white trash.” Derek Arteta, an entertainment lawyer, was on the chopping block after his team lost a challenge due to a misguided exploit of go-karts. As he defended his misunderstanding of the challenge’s target audience, he joked, “I’m white trash. I only eat at restaurants with deep-fried appetizers…”
Trump was appalled by the term. “What do you mean, you’re white trash? What does that mean? You don’t joke about that. What does that mean, you’re white trash?” he said. “You know, I grew up in a small town and I’m not sophisticated,” Arteta responded, still smiling. Trump was livid at this point. “I don’t like it as a joke. You know what, Derek? You’re fired! I think that is so stupid for you to say. You’re fired! Go! Terrible! You shouldn’t use that expression anymore either. How stupid can you be? I don’t want to hire white trash. You know what? ‘White trash’ is a terrible expression. It’s not a nice expression.” White trash is where Trump, who has systematically dehumanized groups of people like it’s his job, apparently drew the line.
It was discombobulating to watch Kwame Jackson make it to the finals of season one, knowing now that footage of Trump referring to him as the N-word is said to exist. Bill Pruitt, a producer on the first two seasons of The Apprentice, shared this in a 2024 Slate essay, which he published after waiting out the two decades covered by his NDA. In the piece, he quoted Trump during an alleged discussion about potentially selecting Jackson as the winner: “I mean, would America buy a [N-word] winning?”
Apparently, nobody blinked, and the topic was “swiftly” changed, as Pruitt writes. “None of us thinks to walk out the door and never return. I still wish I had.” (A spokesperson for Trump has denied Pruitt’s account, calling it politically motivated.)
History repeats itself. We keep letting this man back into our living rooms, as people in the room with him stay noiseless. The Statue of Liberty weeps.
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