Trump berates his 'Apprentice' replacement Schwarzenegger

President-elect Donald Trump hit his “Apprentice” replacement Arnold Schwarzenegger with a one-two punch Friday, tweeting that the new show “got ‘swamped’” in the ratings and slamming the former California governor for not supporting him during the 2016 election.

“Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got ‘swamped’ (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT. So much for being a movie star-and that was season 1 compared to season 14,” Trump, who is still an executive producer of the show, said in a series of tweets. “Now compare him to my season 1. But who cares, he supported Kasich & Hillary.”


“The New Celebrity Apprentice” premiered on NBC on Monday with Schwarzenegger as host, and it indeed didn’t receive comparable ratings, according to media reports. Schwarzenegger’s “Apprentice” brought in about 4.9 million viewers, compared to 18.5 million when Trump premiered on "The Apprentice" in 2004, according to CNN. The premiere episode of Trump’s last “Apprentice” season two years ago received about 6.5 million viewers.

Schwarzenegger responded later Friday morning with his own tweets directed at Trump.

“There's nothing more important than the people's work, @realDonaldTrump,” Schwarzenegger tweeted. “I wish you the best of luck and I hope you'll work for ALL of the American people as aggressively as you worked for your ratings.”

During the 2016 election, the action movie star supported Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the GOP primary and refused to vote for Trump in the general.

“For the first time since I became a citizen in 1983, I will not vote for the Republican candidate for President,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement in October. “As proud as I am to label myself a Republican, there is one label that I hold above all else — American. So I want to take a moment today to remind my fellow Republicans that it is not only acceptable to choose your country over your party — it is your duty.”