Arnold Schwarzenegger has no problem with Trump acting as his Celebrity Apprentice EP
Yesterday, we reported that soon-to-be-President Donald Trump would be holding on to another executive credit when he heads into the Oval Office, continuing to serve as—and be paid for being—the executive producer of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice. Now, Trump’s successor on the program, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has weighed in on the president-elect’s position, giving his approval to his (and the nation’s) new boss.
“It’s no different than when I was running for governor and I was governor,” Schwarzenegger said at a press conference for the new version of the show, which debuts on January 2. “My credit on Terminator”—and the attendant royalties—“stays the same.” He also asked for patience for Trump, saying “I think you have to give him a chance. I don’t think you can judge anything after one month”—glossing over the fact that Americans, himself included, have actually had several months to assess Trump’s character, which is presumably why Schwarzenegger refused to endorse the Republican candidate during the election.
But at least one part-time Trump supporter doesn’t think he should keep his TV-producing gig. Newt Gingrich—whose relationship with Trump could best be described with “It’s Complicated,” serving as both a harsh establishment critic and occasional adviser to the president-elect—went on Fox News today to slam the choice. “He doesn’t need his name in print,” Gingrich told Neil Cavuto, possibly missing the entire point of Trump’s campaign. “Donald J. Trump is going to be the executive producer of a thing called the American government, and he is going to have this huge TV show called leading the world.”