He does it all for the ratings.
Being rich must be fun. It means you don’t have to make any sense, and people will give you your own television show. Take Donald Trump, for example: nothing he says on The Apprentice makes a lick of sense, because he’ll contradict it in future episodes. Or even in the exact same episode—occasionally, through the magic of editing, only moments later.
Case in point, this Sunday’s episode, where the teams had to create an event introducing a new Lexus vehicle. During the boardroom, where he decides who he is going to fire, Trump turned to one of his henchmen (in a new twist, it’s the project manager from the winning team, also a candidate competing for the ultimate prize) and asked why he wasn’t contributing more. “I didn’t want to interrupt,” answered Surya.
“You should interrupt,” Trump scolded.
Yet a moment later, Trump admonished his other henchman, Season Four winner Randall, for…interrupting him.
It didn’t stop there. Trump spontaneously fired a candidate, Derek, for poking fun at himself. This is the same Trump who appeared on SNL in a chicken costume, and touted as much in Season Four when candidate Toral refused to dress as a mascot for a presentation. So which is it? Poking fun at the self: good, or evil? Good, only when it includes well-stuffed costumes, bad when it refers to fried food?
Sometimes he likes the contestants to get riled up and fight with each other. Other times he tells people to calm down. He calls some contestants “smart” for remaining silent in board meetings, accusing others of “trying to fly under the radar.”
Contradictions aside, some of his business advice is simply terrible advice that won’t land you a job anywhere but at Trump’s company. I explore this more in the week’s column: Business Advice from Trump.
I’m not going to pretend I’m smarter than a billionaire, but I do draw the line when people start encouraging others to interrupt. Seriously, Trump. Rude.
