During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump frequently bragged about his ratings, and as president-elect, the obsession continues. In this case, that meant dressing down the poor performance of the new version of Celebrity Apprentice hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger, even though Trump has retained his executive producer credit and a portion of the show’s profits.
Let’s all pause for the minute and consider the fact that the man who in two weeks will become the most powerful human on the face of the planet is referring to himself as “the ratings machine, DJT.” Deep breath, and moving on.
As the New York Times TV critic James Poniewozik pointed out, Trump’s spin of the show’s lackluster numbers will be worth keeping in mind the first time his presidency fails to meet its sky-high promises, which have already been heavily revised. (Lock her up? Not so much. Mexico will pay for the wall? Yeah, about that … ) For further perspective, we turn to perhaps the unlikeliest of all possible sources: Schwarzenegger himself. Sounding less like Trump than Michelle Obama, the erstwhile Terminator goes high instead of low, even reposting the video of him reciting the text of Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural address he first shared the day of the election:
This is where we’re at, folks: one sexual harasser quoting the Great Emancipator to another on social media. Suddenly that whole Judgement Day thing doesn’t seem so bad.
