how Donald Trump became my latest guilty pleasure.....
Tomorrow night, Donald Trump will offer us
his latest installment of his surprise hit show, "The Apprentice." Trump has
been pulling in big crowds for his 13 week job interview, and as someone who
literally got "sucked into" this show, I can see why.
His premise is
simple enough. He brought in 16 young executive wannabees who would give their
right arm seemingly to take abuse from "The Donald" on a daily basis for a cool
250K a year. And to say these young go-getters want this job is a harsh
understatement.
While it is fun but sometimes frustrating to watch the
next generation of Gordon Geckos sell their souls to win a reward from Don like
some Pavlovian dog, it are those rewards themselves that are a true highlight of
the show. Not quite the highlight of Trump staring at some kid he just made feel
2 feet tall and billowing "you're fired!" for all the world to see, but a
highlight none the less.
It is true, these rewards show off some of the
best things about New York. Trump also does an excellent job of showing off his
city throughout the show as well. He often will meet the kids at some pristine
location like the stock exchange or other New York mecca of something. When he
took the kids to the skating rink I actually was a little moved when he told the
story of rennovating the place after years of city neglect.
Sure, I
could do without Trump bragging about his tacky gold apartment. But then I think
to myself, "if I could live like that in total gawdiness, why not." Of course,
Don's pompousness with his high rise penthouse is mild compared to his obvious
refusal to believe that the top of his head no longer grows hair.
Maybe
one of the secret things that makes people tune in to The Apprentice is how
Trump shows off the fact that his city is quite alive and well to all those who
are afraid or just haven't visited the big apple since September 2001. At the
very least, Don's obvious and genuine pride in his city I think help make this
show a hit.
Of course, it's also because it's fun to watch those kids
try to out market the other team and try to show up one another. I haven't
always agreed with Trump's decisions, not so much in the firing choices, but in
his ignoring both ethical and legal standards the teams used to achieve their
reward and avoid the boardroom.
For example, I thought the girl's team
used sex way too much long before Trump chastized them. I thought the guys had
the better ad campaign on the 2nd episode. I thought Amoroso should have been
long gone weeks earlier when she lost the money as the team accountant. But the
worst one was when the girls blatantly broke both company policy and state laws
regarding drinking on the job at Planet Hollywood. I thought Trump should have
had the guys win by default for that bad judgement. I thought that the lesson of
staying within the law was more important than the win at any cost motto that
Trump was promoting was more relevant. Especially in today's business
climate.
But i'll be tuning in tomorrow...and in case you are wondering,
I think the best candidates are Troy the good ol boy and Bill the cigar store
owner.