A notable factor in Donald Trump's ascendancy to the nation's highest office was the public persona he built as host and producer of the NBC reality TV series "The Apprentice." The new season of the show, which will be called "The New Celebrity Apprentice," is set to premiere on Jan. 2, 18 days before Trump will officially become the 45th President of the United States. When he takes said office, he will stay on board as an executive producer of "The New Celebrity Apprentice," retaining a "big stake" in the show.
It was revealed that Trump would remain a part of the series going forward by a spokeswoman for the show's creator, Mark Burnett, on Thursday. MGM, the studio run by Burnett, declined to speak on how much Trump will be paid for his role as executive producer. Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for the president-elect, however, said that Trump will have a "big stake" in "The New Celebrity Apprentice," though she did not offer a number.
In the past, Trump has held as much as a 50 percent stake in the series, even when he was not presiding as host. In an interview in May, Trump suggested he would "forever" hold onto a major stake in the show, regardless of where his political career may lead. "You know I have a big chunk of that show, going forever," he said. "Mark and I did it together. We were 50-50 partners."
Burnett had released a statement in opposition to Trump's candidacy in October, rebuking "the hatred, division, and misogyny that has been a very unfortunate part of his campaign." The producers appear to be on good terms now, though, as they recently met to discuss ideas for next month's inauguration, "including a helicopter ride from New York to Washington and a parade on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan," reports The NYT.
The host of "The New Celebrity Apprentice" is another celebrity-turned-politician -- and now a celebrity once more: Arnold Schwarzenegger.
