President-elect Donald Trump took time out of his busy schedule to criticise the disappointing ratings for the new version of his reality show The Apprentice, despite the fact that the program includes his own name in the credits.
Trump is listed as an executive producer on NBC's The New Celebrity Apprentice, which makes him eligible to receive proceeds from the show and would give him financial incentive to root for its success.
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Trump remains producer on Apprentice
Despite concerns of there being a conflict of interest, US President-elect Donald Trump retains his executive producer credit on The Celebrity Apprentice.
Instead, the president-elect tweeted on Friday that his replacement as host of the show, Arnold Schwarzenegger, failed to draw as many viewers as Trump used to.
"Arnold Schwarzenegger got 'swamped' (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT," Trump said, using his initials.
![Arnold Schwarzenegger, the new boss of <i>The New Celebrity Apprentice</i>.](/web/20170114033050im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/l/8/j/t/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtnekl.png/1483721975912.jpg)
"So much for being a movie star."
He also chided Schwarzenegger, the former Republican governor of California, for supporting rival presidential candidates John Kasich and Hillary Clinton.
The new program's premiere drew an average audience of 4.93 million, down more than 43 percent from the most recent Trump-hosted premiere in 2015, according to Variety, which cited tougher competition from the Rose Bowl football game and the new season of The Bachelor.
Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got "swamped" (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT. So much for....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2017
being a movie star-and that was season 1 compared to season 14. Now compare him to my season 1. But who cares, he supported Kasich & Hillary
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2017
![Trump has trashed Schwarzenegger for poor ratings on the The Celebrity Apprentice reboot.](/web/20170114033050im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/8/6/9/0/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtnekl.png/1483721975912.jpg)
The president-elect saw one clear reason for the decline: his absence.Â
Schwarzenegger responded to Trump's criticisms on Friday, tweeting: "There's nothing more important than the people's work, Donald Trump," Schwarzenegger.
"I wish you the best of luck and I hope you'll work for ALL of the American people as aggressively as you worked for your ratings."
Trump has previously said he's not playing an active role on the new version of the show, though he continues to have "a big stake" in it.
There's nothing more important than the people's work, @realDonaldTrump. https://t.co/fYtAfFPMKF
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) January 6, 2017
I wish you the best of luck and I hope you'll work for ALL of the American people as aggressively as you worked for your ratings.
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) January 6, 2017
Since the president-elect's name is in the credits, he has a right to comment on the ratings, adviser Kellyanne Conway said on Friday during an interview on Fox News.
"This is his way of communicating," she said. "People need to get accustomed to it."
The tweets could also distract from a more serious item on the president-elect's agenda on Friday. Trump is scheduled to get a briefing from the nation's senior intelligence officials on their conclusion that Russia's most senior leadership authorised hacking of Democratic organisations during the campaign. Trump has questioned that assessment.
Bloomberg