The Apprentice Returns Monday, February 27th, 9pm on NBC
Official website: The Apprentice 5
Trump kids turn 'Apprentice' into a family affair
By MARISA GUTHRIE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Donald Trump may be on a publicity-generating rampage, kicking former collaborator Martha Stewart's can all over the block. But he has a new season of "The Apprentice" to promote and what Trump lacks in grace he more than makes up in media savvy.
"Obviously, people like Trump," he bellowed during a phone interview earlier this week. "There have been 15 copies of 'The Apprentice' - Tommy Hilfiger, Mark Cuban, Richard Branson, Martha! And all of them failed."
The TV scrap heap is littered with Trump's wanna-be heirs, most notably Martha. And while "The Apprentice" hasn't matched the ratings glory of its inaugural installment, it continues to do well for its struggling network.
The fifth "Apprentice" features the usual duplicitous suspects well-versed in the fine arts of butt-kissing and back-stabbing. Tarek is a high-tech manager and Mensa member who thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. Stacy is a criminal defense attorney who accuses one of her teammates of threatening her. Brent is a portly lawyer from Florida who created his own diet, on which he lost 100 pounds.
The new wrinkle in this year's "Apprentice," premiering Monday at 9 p.m. on WNBC/Ch.4, is the addition of Trump's children Donald Jr., and Ivanka as stand-ins for George Ross and Carolyn Kepcher.
Ivanka, 24, has a business degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, her father's alma mater. She and her brother work for Dad now, but Ivanka's first post-college job was not with him.
"I took a job with another real-estate developer in New York," she said, "because at the end of the day, I did want the experience of working at some other company as a benchmark."
Her brief flirtation with fashion modeling several years ago was a means to escape the doldrums of boarding school in Wallingford, Conn.
"Modeling was never an end game for me," she said. "It was fun for those years when I was trapped in Connecticut. As young as I can remember I always wanted to get into real estate. I always sort of had a plan."
But no amount of hard work will quell the perception that she got where she is because of who she is.
"I long ago learned not to be sensitive to the comments of others," she said. "People will always say any success I had would be attributed to my father. I understand that. But it's made me work that much harder."
Having his children on his show could soften Trump's mercenary image.
"You can see his paternal side on the show," said Ivanka. "It comes through. He's not this huggable type guy, but he's very loving."
In the second episode, Trump's reward for the winning team includes working with Career Gear, a nonprofit organization that provides down-on-their luck men with job-placement tools, including interview-appropriate clothing. In a touching final scene, the team helps outfit three men with snazzy new suits courtesy of Trump Menswear.
Said Trump: "This will destroy my image."
Official website: The Apprentice 5
Trump kids turn 'Apprentice' into a family affair
By MARISA GUTHRIE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Donald Trump may be on a publicity-generating rampage, kicking former collaborator Martha Stewart's can all over the block. But he has a new season of "The Apprentice" to promote and what Trump lacks in grace he more than makes up in media savvy.
"Obviously, people like Trump," he bellowed during a phone interview earlier this week. "There have been 15 copies of 'The Apprentice' - Tommy Hilfiger, Mark Cuban, Richard Branson, Martha! And all of them failed."
The TV scrap heap is littered with Trump's wanna-be heirs, most notably Martha. And while "The Apprentice" hasn't matched the ratings glory of its inaugural installment, it continues to do well for its struggling network.
The fifth "Apprentice" features the usual duplicitous suspects well-versed in the fine arts of butt-kissing and back-stabbing. Tarek is a high-tech manager and Mensa member who thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. Stacy is a criminal defense attorney who accuses one of her teammates of threatening her. Brent is a portly lawyer from Florida who created his own diet, on which he lost 100 pounds.
The new wrinkle in this year's "Apprentice," premiering Monday at 9 p.m. on WNBC/Ch.4, is the addition of Trump's children Donald Jr., and Ivanka as stand-ins for George Ross and Carolyn Kepcher.
Ivanka, 24, has a business degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, her father's alma mater. She and her brother work for Dad now, but Ivanka's first post-college job was not with him.
"I took a job with another real-estate developer in New York," she said, "because at the end of the day, I did want the experience of working at some other company as a benchmark."
Her brief flirtation with fashion modeling several years ago was a means to escape the doldrums of boarding school in Wallingford, Conn.
"Modeling was never an end game for me," she said. "It was fun for those years when I was trapped in Connecticut. As young as I can remember I always wanted to get into real estate. I always sort of had a plan."
But no amount of hard work will quell the perception that she got where she is because of who she is.
"I long ago learned not to be sensitive to the comments of others," she said. "People will always say any success I had would be attributed to my father. I understand that. But it's made me work that much harder."
Having his children on his show could soften Trump's mercenary image.
"You can see his paternal side on the show," said Ivanka. "It comes through. He's not this huggable type guy, but he's very loving."
In the second episode, Trump's reward for the winning team includes working with Career Gear, a nonprofit organization that provides down-on-their luck men with job-placement tools, including interview-appropriate clothing. In a touching final scene, the team helps outfit three men with snazzy new suits courtesy of Trump Menswear.
Said Trump: "This will destroy my image."