Trump may have been allowed to return to NBC last night on The Tonight Show, but he’s still out as host of Celebrity Apprentice.
The reality television competition show pits a group of celebrities against one another, playing in teams to complete different business projects. Monies earned go to their respective charities. NBC put the show’s new season on hiatus following Donald Trump’s controversial comments about Mexican immigrants, and while the network has confirmed that it will not have Trump back as host, NBC is not against resurrecting it with a new host. Which got us thinking: Who might make a suitable replacement?
Several names have already been bandied about on the Web – Sheryl Sandberg, George Lopez, Ryan Seacrest, and Michael Bloomberg are just a few. Some believe that the person might be a visible minority as a sort of middle finger to Trump. The biggest statement would, of course, be if the person was of Mexican descent, which might explain why Lopez’s name has been thrown out there, as it seems his personality doesn’t exactly scream Trump replacement.
But we feel there are a few other names worth considering. Here are our picks for some great options to replace Trump at the helm of Celebrity Apprentice, to utter those signature two words: “you’re fired.”
1. Marc Cuban
He’s a TV personality, appearing on the popular ABC venture capitalist show, Shark Tank. But most important, he’s a stellar businessman with his hands in everything from mobile apps to sports (most notably as owner of the Dallas Mavericks), movies, and more. Known for his entrepreneurial spirit, and not one to shy away from “firing” people who pitch lacklustre products and/or business ideas on Shark Tank, he’d be an ideal replacement.
2. Arsenio Hall
As former host of a popular late night TV show, comedian and actor, Arsenio Hall, has the personality and acting chops to lead a show like Celebrity Apprentice. But what also makes Hall uniquely qualified is that he actually appeared on the fifth season of the show, and won! He knows what it takes to play, which puts him an ideal position to throw down the hammer on a new batch of celebrity contestants. It’s clear with his latest unsuccessful stab getting back into late night TV talk shows that Hall is itching to get back on the small screen, and this could be the perfect way to do so.
3. Dwayne Johnson
“The Rock” may not exactly be the first person that comes to mind when you think Donald Trump, but this former (and also current) wrestler, actor, and producer knows what it means to be tough, pulls in a huge audience, and has proven he’s capable of building a brand. Naturally, doing just that is integral to many of the challenges contestants face on Celebrity Apprentice. And let’s face it: who wouldn’t want to have The Rock get up out of his chair, raise that single eyebrow, and fire someone? Sign us up!
4. Richard Branson
A billionaire entrepreneur, philanthropist, and investor, Branson would be a perfect person to sit in that executive chair and put contestants to the task – especially when it comes to charity. He has plenty of businesses that he could integrate with the show under the Virgin brand name, including his recent expansion into hotels – just like Trump! The British invasion is happening all across American TV shows and movies – why not reality TV, as well?
5. Carly Fiorina
Might it be time to put a woman at the helm of the show? Carly Fiorina would be an interesting choice for a number of reasons, not least of which is that, like Trump, she’s also a candidate for the Republication nomination in the upcoming 2016 presidential election. From a business perspective, she’s best known for her time in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s as CEO of Hewlett-Packard, notably heading up what was the biggest tech industry merger ever at the time between HP and Compaq. She means business, so why not let that translate to the TV landscape? With her polling behind other candidates, unless there’s a major turnaround, she may just have some free time on her hands very soon anyway.
