President Donald Trump gave a tepid endorsement of his son, Donald Trump Jr, to take over a rebooted Apprentice franchise. In the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon, Trump was asked to respond to a Wall Street Journal report that said Amazon studio executives were discussing bringing back the former NBC reality show, with the younger Trump at the helm. It comes after the Jeff Bezos-owned studio paid $40 million for the Melania documentary.
Trump's Comments on the Reboot
'Look, we had a great success, 14 seasons, and The Apprentice was a tremendous success,' the President said. 'So I've been hearing that, you know, a little bit,' he said of the reboot. Trump then turned to his eldest son. 'He's a good guy. He'd be probably good,' Trump said. 'He's got a little charisma going.' 'You need a little charisma for that sucker,' the President added. 'So we'll see what happens.'
History of The Apprentice
The Apprentice launched on NBC in 2004 and was an instant hit. It made Trump even more famous than he already was as a New York real estate developer and tabloid fixture, also known for his best-selling book, The Art of the Deal. The Apprentice aired until 2017, the year Trump became President.
Amazon's Interest
The Journal reported that Amazon MGM Studios head Mike Hopkins and other Amazon executives started talking about bringing back The Apprentice early last year, in conjunction with Trump's return to the White House. Around the same time, Amazon cut the Melania deal, with the documentary being filmed in the run-up to the President's second inauguration. Bezos has been conspicuously courting Trump's favor, blocking the Washington Post from endorsing his Democratic rival Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election and steering Amazon toward programming likely to please the MAGA faithful.
Amazon acquired The Apprentice back-catalogue in 2022 as part of its MGM purchase. 'Since our acquisition of MGM, we have had preliminary internal discussions about what's next for The Apprentice as a property,' an Amazon spokesperson told the Journal, adding that the show was not in active development and no host had been chosen. In fact, Amazon hadn't even approached the Trump family.
Trump Jr's Role
Trump Jr and his brother Eric have taken over the Trump Organization with their father's move to politics. But Trump Jr has also dipped a toe into politics, writing books and hosting a podcast, also appearing at campaign events to bolster his father. This week, he and brother Barron were the only Trump children to miss the White House state dinner with King Charles and Queen Camilla. But who did make it was Bezos, who attended with his wife, Lauren Sanchez, who wore a plunging black gown.
