Donald Trump gloats about Martha Stewart and Arnold Schwarzenegger's 'Apprentice' failure in new book

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: In a new book brimming with insider stories, former president Donald Trump dished out some blistering critiques of his 'The Apprentice' co-stars, notably targeting Martha Stewart and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Trump's reality TV career skyrocketed with 'The Apprentice', where his signature phrase "you're fired" became iconic.

Donald Trump's bombshell insights from 'The Apprentice'

According to Donald Trump, the power of that line was felt throughout Trump Tower during the show's 2004 debut. "The place just reverberated. People were screaming. They were shouting," Trump nostalgically shared with author Ramin Setoodeh in the book 'Apprentice in Wonderland'.

The book chronicles Trump's rise through reality TV, featuring candid interviews from May 2021 to November 2023. Trump didn't hold back on his assessments of Stewart and Schwarzenegger. He described Stewart's tenure on 'The Apprentice: Martha Stewart' as "failed miserably" and labeled Schwarzenegger's performance on "The New Celebrity Apprentice" as "slow" and lacking energy.

Martha Stewart's 'Apprentice' stint 'failed miserably'

In 2005, Stewart joined 'The Apprentice' post-prison, aiming to boost the show’s sagging ratings. However, her cool demeanor fell flat with contestants and viewers alike.

Former NBC Universal chairman Jeff Gaspin remarked, “As soon as we saw the episodes, she wasn’t the dynamic reality star [Trump] was. She was very low-key. She wasn’t in your face the way he was.”

Trump echoed these sentiments bluntly, saying, “How can you get better than Martha? And it failed miserably.” When asked if he was pleased with her flop, Trump admitted, “Probably.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger's lackluster 'Apprentice' performance

Donald Trump also had scathing words for Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2017 run on 'The New Celebrity Apprentice'. Just weeks before his own inauguration, Trump tuned in and found it lacking energy.

“I said it was terrible. I just felt it had no energy whatsoever,” Trump declared, criticizing Schwarzenegger's attempt at the signature line “You’re fired!” which he changed to “You’re terminated.” 

Trump concluded, “Arnold couldn’t say it properly. Who would think Arnold would be bad? But he was slow,” the New York Post reported.

'The Apprentice' undeniably bolstered Trump’s image, casting him as a tough negotiator and America’s most renowned businessman. “The Apprentice normalized him,” said Sam Solovey, a contestant from the first 2004 season.

“It made him almost like the personification of the American dream. He was an aspirational character for Middle America. It was perfectly packaged on television in a very black-and-white way; he was the judge, the jury, and the executioner. And then you’ve got these younger people, looking at this god-like character, elevating him,” Solovey told Setoodeh, who covered 'The Apprentice' from the start as a young reporter at Newsweek.

Internet slams Donald Trump's critique of Martha Stewart and Arnold Schwarzenegger

Internet users took to social media to express their views on Donald Trump's criticism of Martha Steward and Arnold Schwarzenegger as hosts of their respective 'The Apprentice' shows.

One social media user tweeted, "Big deal."

Another added, "Of course he was. He’s very competitive and always wants to win. Thats why he’s good at what he does."

One individual said, "Speaking of fail $DJT."

"I LOVE Martha Stewart, but I fail to see why anyone cares about this story," another wrote.

"You mean everyone? LOL....There is only one DON!" one person added.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.