We're Not Surprised By Who Donald Trump Wanted To Replace Him On The Apprentice

It's no secret that Donald Trump takes the idea of a family business pretty literally. The former president has always given jobs to his kids, with Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump all holding vice president roles in the Trump Organization at one point. So, it's little surprise that Donald wanted to keep things close to home when finding his replacement as the host of the hit reality show "The Apprentice," following his 2015 departure.

Journalist Ramin Setoodeh claimed in his 2024 book, "Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass," that Donald wanted to see his beloved eldest daughter, Ivanka, take over the coveted role. The former president once gushed, "I felt Ivanka would have been by far the best person you could hire." 

Making it a real family affair, Donald wanted Ivanka flanked by her brothers, Eric and Don Jr., as he felt they'd make great permanent advisors on the show alongside her. Eric confirmed as such, revealing in the book that the idea of the sibling trio taking over was actually discussed at one point. Notably, all three appeared on the show prior to their father's departure.

According to Donald Trump, NBC wasn't sold on his children taking over "The Apprentice" from him. Author Ramin Setoodeh revealed in "Apprentice in Wonderland" that the network ultimately didn't move ahead because it would've been too much about the Trumps. Equally, the former president's daughter didn't exactly have the most squeaky clean relationship with NBC, as former contestant and former "Days of Our Lives" star Vivica A. Fox previously confessed that she once felt insulted by Ivanka Trump while filming "The Celebrity Apprentice."

The network not wanting to make the show all about the Trumps doesn't come as too much of a shock. NBC very publicly cut ties with Donald following his offensive statements about Mexican immigrants. The network confirmed in June 2015 that he had been fired from "The Apprentice" and shared that it would also no longer be airing the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, which he was heavily involved with at the time. "NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump," the network's statement, obtained by Variety, read in part.

However, Donald asserted that he was supposedly asked to return to "The Apprentice," but couldn't because of his political aspirations. "NBC renewed 'The Apprentice,' because we had a great season last season. And they would love me not to be [running for president], I will tell you right now," he clarified to CNN.

Would Ivanka Trump have hosted "The Apprentice" if NBC was more receptive to the idea? Although she hasn't spoken out about Donald Trump backing her for the job, the former first daughter did share how much she enjoyed working on the series with her family. "It's been an incredible opportunity for me and actually both my brothers have been on the show as well and are on [Season 14] as well. It's a lot of fun," she enthused during a 2014 appearance on WWLP's "22 News," adding, "It's been a great experience and we just love doing this as a family as we do also love working together every day as a family." It's worth noting, though, that Ivanka turned down "The Bachelorette."

Still, it sounds like she may have been up for taking over, which could explain why Donald wasn't happy when Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced him — despite the two being friends for years before their infamous feud. The controversial politician repeatedly slammed the actor on X, formerly known as Twitter, including writing in 2017, "Arnold Schwarzenegger did a really bad job as Governor of California and even worse on 'The Apprentice' [...] but at least he tried hard!" The following month, following "The Apprentice's" cancelation, Donald tweeted, "Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't voluntarily leaving 'The Apprentice,' he was fired by his bad (pathetic) ratings [...] Sad end to [a] great show."