Wow. I’m blown away and honored by all your tweets. I can’t wait to bring my experience to the board room & raise millions for charity.
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) September 14, 2015
It appears that Trump is swapping positions with Schwarzenegger, as the former Governor of California hangs up his political hat to move over to TV and business, while Trump leaves the small screen behind to continue his mystifying run in the 2015 presidential race.
Trump, who served central to the show, as well as its predecessor, The Apprentice, was not welcomed back following his controversial comments about Mexican immigrants. While he made a successful return to NBC as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last Friday night, it was made clear that he would not be returning as host of the celebrity reality competition, where celebrities compete in various tasks to raise money for their favorite charities.
The show is perhaps best know for the phrase made famous by Trump (along with millions of managers across the country before him): “you’re fired,” uttered when eliminating a contestant from the competition each week.
How will Ah-nold fill those shoes? His signature phrase, “I’ll be back,” doesn’t quite make sense in this context. Perhaps, in the spirit of another famous phrase from the iconic actor, he could simply say “hasta la vista, baby.” Or maybe even simply “you’re terminated!” (Too cheesy?) But chances are, Ah-hold will find a new signature phrase to mark this new phase in his career. And really, seeing The Terminator look someone in the eye and fire them, no matter what he actually says to do it, could translate to reality-TV gold.
It’s a good move for Schwarzennegger, given that the show focuses as much on raising money for charity as it does on raising the profiles of a group of celebrities who, in many cases, are looking to redeem themselves in the public eye, or simply get back into it. Past contestants have included everyone from Arsenio Hall, to Rod Blagojevich (and his wife), Dennis Rodman, Tom Green, Bret Michaels, and the late Joan Rivers, to name a few. This would mark the 8th season of Celebrity Apprentice, and the 15th season in the Apprentice franchise. Last season’s winner was former television host Leeza Gibbons, who faced off in the finals against Geraldo Rivera.
It seems Trump is sending nothing but love to Schwarzennegger, tweeting his delight at the choice of a new host.
Congrats to my friend @Schwarzenegger who is doing next season’s Celebrity Apprentice. He’ll be great & will raise lots of $ for charity.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2015
We’ll see Schwarzennegger’s move to the small screen in the 2016/2017 season of the show, which was put on hiatus this year as the network searched for someone to fill Trump’s boardroom shoes.
For a good laugh, check out our 5 other ideas for stars who could have made great Celebrity Apprentice hosts.
