President Trump reportedly wasn't very serious about his 2016 presidential run.
At least that's the message he sent The Apprentice showrunners in June 2015 after announcing he was entering the race, NBC insiders tell The Hollywood Reporter. As NBC executives scrambled to deal with Trump's new ambitions — and address the fact that he called Mexicans "rapists" during his campaign announcement — Trump reportedly told them he would be out of the race by September.
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.
Trump's presidential ambitions struck again in 2015. This time, he told showrunners he'd announce a bid in June, leave the race by September, and be back filming Celebrity Apprentice by January, one former network insider told The Hollywood Reporter. But Trump never dropped out, and it was perhaps influenced by the fact that NBC cut ties with him on June 29 over his racist comments about Mexican immigrants in his announcement speech. Trump "thought it was a mistake, and was belligerent," the insider said. "He didn't see why he couldn't do the show from the Oval Office," another source said.
Trump never did quite cut ties with NBC; He's even holding a town hall on the network Thursday. And he brought his penchant for firing — the highest rated part of The Apprentice — to the White House as well. Read more at The Hollywood Reporter.
-
‘The problem isn’t solved by simply swapping out the faces on screen’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
3 officers killed in Pennsylvania shootingSpeed Read Police did not share the identities of the officers or the slain suspect, nor the motive or the focus of the still-active investigation
-
Fed cuts interest rates a quarter pointSpeed Read ‘The cut suggests a broader shift toward concern about cracks forming in the job market’
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
