Risible capitalist Donald Trump has made an (occasionally bankruptcy-declaring) career out of redefining “blowhard,” but his recent comments about Mexicans being criminals and rapists really launched the human equivalent of a YouTube comments thread into a new category of embarrassing. (Of course, his second-place showing in the recent New Hampshire poll of GOP presidential contenders suggests numerous other Americans have already settled into the warm embrace of the “embarrassing” category.) After firing him from The Celebrity Apprentice, many assumed that would be it for the show that marks the only time the words, “Piers Morgan, you are the winner!” have been uttered.
But now, the search is reportedly on for a new host for the aging series. Page Six reports the network is in early discussions with George Lopez about taking over the job. Lopez—whom NBC would probably very much like to remind you is Mexican-American—would definitely send a signal that the network disagrees with its former employee, though one could also argue that firing him made a similar point. Also, while Lopez is probably plenty rich at this point, he’s not exactly most people’s idea of a corporate mogul.
Which is ironic, considering he’s one of the highest-paid comedians in the world, pulling in well over $10 million a year on average. Most of that comes from the kind of things a corporate mogul does: stock investments, property holdings, and endorsement deals with Carnival Cruise Lines through his onboard Punchliner Comedy clubs (slogan: “You definitely will never see George Lopez performing here”). If he managed to hang on for 14 seasons of the show, like Trump, he could really upgrade that net worth: According to financial disclosures just revealed by Trump—a requirement for presidential candidates—he claims to have made $213,606,575 total from the series. Then again, Donald Trump is a total liar, so who knows how accurate that is.