[h=1]'Ratings machine' Trump raps TV successor Schwarzenegger[/h]By AFP PUBLISHED: 16:14, 6 January 2017 | UPDATED: 16:14, 6 January 2017
As Donald Trump readies to move into the Oval Office, Arnold Schwarzenegger has stepped into his old shoes -- as host of the reality show "Celebrity Apprentice" -- and the president-elect is not impressed. In a pair of early morning tweets Friday, Trump ripped into the "Terminator" actor-turned-politician, mocking the viewer figures for the season premiere this week -- and calling himself a "ratings machine" by comparison. "Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got 'swamped' (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT. So much for....
"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," he said. The former California governor was among the Republican figures who refused to back Trump's inflammatory bid for the presidency -- although he stopped short of endorsing the Democratic ticket of Hillary Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine. Schwarzenegger, 69, tweeted back at Trump: "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." After hosting 14 seasons of "The Apprentice" and "The Celebrity Apprentice," Trump is staying on as executive producer of the show after he is sworn in as president on January 20. His successor as host, an ex-bodybuilder and action movie star who made a name with the "Terminator" franchise, took his first steps on the eighth season of "The New Celebrity Apprentice" Monday. The premiere -- in which stars including boxer Laila Ali and singer Boy George completed business-related challenges judged by Schwarzenegger -- drew 4.9 million viewers, against 6.5 million for the first episode of Trump's final season, two years ago. The Austrian native rolled out a new catchphrase: "You're Terminated!" -- a riff on Trump's trademark put-down, "You're Fired." The Austrian-born Hollywood star -- who became a US citizen more than three decades ago -- leveraged his popularity into a career in politics, serving as governor of California from 2003 to 2011.
Arnold Schwarzenegger (center) debuted on Monday as host of The New Celebrity Apprentice on NBC. He is seen above with two of his advisors on the show - Tyra Banks (right) and his nephew, Patrick Knapp Schwarzenegger (left)
President-elect Donald Trump (seen above during his stint as host of The Apprentice in 2005) took to Twitter early Friday morning to mock Schwarzenegger for his low ratings
'Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got 'swamped' (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT,' Trump tweeted (above) on Friday
'So much for being a movie star - and that was season 1 compared to season 14,' the president-elect tweeted on Friday
Schwarzenegger's debut lost in the ratings battle to ABC's The Bachelor, the reality dating show. Above is bachelor Nick Viall (center) and the women competing to be his love interest
Agreed & Agreed. I didnt look to deep but with all these corporations taking notice (Ford, Carrier, Fiat etc) what was the feeling in the poly forum? Or at least what was your take? Im not a by the book Libertarian as i used to be. Im a bit more pragmatic in my approach so even though it went against free trade type principals i was impressed. I mean this dude, is doing shit and saying shit that you would wish but never expect a politician much less a POTUS to say and do. So, im cautiously optmistic. His i dont give a fuck brand does sit well with me but he needs to pull it in a notch.