Donald Trump took a break Friday morning from tweeting about “Making America Great Again” (in all caps) to slam Arnold Schwarzenegger and “The New Celebrity Apprentice” — a show he hosted for fourteen seasons and on which he remains an exec producer.
According to Nielsen’s preliminary ratings — released Tuesday, the morning after Schwarzenegger’s version of the show debuted — the program’s ratings had dropped more than 43% since the most recent premiere that Trump hosted in 2015.
“Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got “swamped” (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT,” Trump tweeted. “So much for being a movie star — and that was season 1 compared to season 14. Now compare him to my season 1.”
Trump continued to distance himself from Schwarzenegger by calling out his allegiances during the election. “But who cares, he supported Kasich & Hillary,” Trump wrote.
Schwarzenegger, who served as Governor of California for the Republican Party for two terms, announced that he would endorse Kasich in March 2016. Later in October, he said that he would “not vote for the Republican candidate” shortly after Trump’s now-famous vulgar “Access Hollywood” tape made its rounds.
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It’s no secret that Trump has an obsession with his own ratings as host of “The Apprentice.” In a photo of Trump’s recent meeting with Kanye West in Trump tower, a framed chart of Nielsen ratings from Variety is visible over Ivanka Trump’s shoulder.
The Friday morning tweets were sent the same day that Trump is expected to meet with all the top editors at Conde Nast publications including Anna Wintour and Graydon Carter.
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
Kanye aside, let's all note that Trump has a framed Nielsen ratings chart from Daily Variety on his wall. pic.twitter.com/N5W9FMuNmc
— Michael Schneider (@franklinavenue) December 13, 2016
