Listen to Donald Trump plot a whites vs. blacks version of The Apprentice
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Back in 2005, when Donald Trump was just a billionaire reality star and not a major party's nominee for president, he went on Howard Stern's radio show to discuss his latest idea for his reality competition, The Apprentice.
"One thing I want to ask your opinion [of]," Trump begins telling Stern, is a "concept thrown out by some person: nine blacks against nine whites." Stern immediately responds, "This I like."
As Stern and his co-host Robin Quivers giggle about the idea — and how it could start a "riot" — Stern interjects to ask Trump whether the nine black contestants would be "very dark-skinned blacks or light-skinned blacks." Trump assures the host there would be an "assortment of blacks," but adds that all nine "whites" would ideally be blonde.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The entire relevant segment of Trump's appearance on Stern's show is below, courtesy of Buzzfeed News. Take a listen, and keep your ears perked for Trump's explanation of how the controversial concept would have been "handled very beautifully by me." Kimberly Alters
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
-
Political cartoons for February 18Cartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include the DOW, human replacement, and more
-
The best music tours to book in 2026The Week Recommends Must-see live shows to catch this year from Lily Allen to Florence + The Machine
-
Gisèle Pelicot’s ‘extraordinarily courageous’ memoir is a ‘compelling’ readIn the Spotlight A Hymn to Life is a ‘riveting’ account of Pelicot’s ordeal and a ‘rousing feminist manifesto’
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
