Donald Trump didn’t decide who got fired on The Apprentice, says former contestant

'The producers were sending him notes,' says ex-competitor

He claims Mr Trump, who hosted the show for 14 years, was not that closely involved with the competition behind the scenes (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Donald Trump might be famous for the catchphrase “you’re fired” but apparently he was not the person making the decisions about who was sacked on The Apprentice.

Clay Aiken, a former Celebrity Apprentice contestant, has claimed President Trump did not decide who got fired on the reality TV show.

To recall, every episode of the series culminated with a high drama moment in the corporate boardroom where Mr Trump conclusively, authoritatively jettisoned a constant by delivering the trademark slogan “you’re fired”.

Aiken claimed Mr Trump, who hosted the show for 14 years, was not that closely involved with the competition behind the scenes.

“Trump didn’t decide who got fired on Apprentice, I mean, NBC made those decisions,” Aiken told Domecast, a podcast from North Carolina’s News & Observer newspaper.

“There used to be a little thing right on his desk that looked like a phone - he pretended it was a phone - but it was actually a teleprompter where the producers were sending him notes.

“He didn't know that people were getting in fights during the week while we were doing these tasks, the producers did. And they'd send him notes and he'd say, ‘Oh you two didn't get along.’”

He added: “It was very much, ‘I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV.’”

Aiken, who competed on the show in 2012, said Mr Trump in the White House often reminded him of the man he encountered on The Apprentice.

“The man as president definitely has a teleprompter sitting on his desk right now, with people telling him, ‘such and such is in the health care bill,’” he said. “I feel like half the time, his teleprompter has broken down as president and he doesn’t know what’s going on.”

He added: “He probably is leading the country in the same way that he did ‘Apprentice. Donald Trump isn’t the businessman that people believe he is because we saw him on TV, playing in The Apprentice. And he did look like he was leading, but on The Apprentice he doesn’t lead.”

But Aiken, who unsuccessfully ran as Democrat for Congress in North Carolina in 2014, insisted he thought President Trump was a “nice guy” and said he “always liked” him.

He said: “I imagine that in person if I saw him again today I would be charmed by him because he’s a very gracious person."

Mr Trump, who continued to be an executive producer for the show after his election, launched the reality TV series in 2004 and continues to hold it dear to his heart.

The Independent contacted a representative of NBC for comment.