Donald Trump Proposed “Blacks Against Whites” Season of ‘The Apprentice’

The Apprentice would have been very different if Donald Trump had his way. Over the weekend, The New York Times revealed that in 2005, Trump pitched a white-versus-black season of the NBC reality show — an idea that was quickly rejected by network executives. Around the same time, he discussed the idea with Howard Stern on his radio show, and he explained the preferred demographics of the season’s contestants. “It would be nine blacks against nine whites, all highly educated, very smart, strong, beautiful people,” said the then-Apprentice host in an audio clip obtained by the Times.

According to the New York Times, as Trump prepared for The Apprentice Season 4 in 2005, he went to NBC execs with an idea about how to make the series the “highest-rated show on television.” Sources tell the Times that after Trump pitched the black-versus-white season, executives held a “series of can-you-believe-this conversations inside a network” before quickly dismissing the idea. One former boss recalled his reaction, saying, “Uh, I don’t think so!”

But Trump wouldn’t let go of the controversial ploy quite yet. That same year — the Times didn’t specify whether his appearance on Stern’s radio show was before or after pitching to the network — Trump discussed his idea with Howard Stern and his African-American co-host Robin Quivers. “It would be nine blacks against nine whites, all highly educated, very smart, strong, beautiful people,” he said in the audio clip unearthed by the Times. He then asked Stern and Quivers if they “like it;” while Stern said “yes,” Quivers was less certain. “Well, I think you’re going to have a riot,” she said.

The New York Times reports that Trump goes on to say that the proposed season would include an “assortment” of light-skinned and black-skinned contestants, while the white team would feature only blondes. “Wouldn’t that set off a racial war in this country?” asked Stern. “See, actually, I don’t think it would,” Trump reportedly replied. “I think that it would be handled very beautifully by me. Because, as you know, I’m very diplomatic.”

While Stern reportedly acknowledged that “on some level it’s wrong,” he added that he likes the idea and “would watch” a black-versus-white season of The Apprentice. “You’d have to,” said Quivers in a particularly prescient moment of foreshadowing. “Because you’d want to know when the riot starts.”

Listen to a portion of Trump’s discussion with Howard Stern on The New York Times‘ website.

Where to stream The Apprentice