Donald Trump's 'Celebrity Apprentice' Returns to Washington With a New Cast

For the first time in eight years—almost to the day—The Celebrity Apprentice will make an informal return to American audiences.

The new season, hosted at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, will also see the comeback of its original host, and "boss," President-elect Donald Trump, who will be joined by a new set of contestants that include the world's richest man, several former Fox News hosts, a former football star, a celebrity physician and even a former Real World cast member.

Trump is set to be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on Monday, and with his inauguration, comes a new set of faces. Sort of. Many of the incoming administration are actually already recognizable to most Americans.

The second Trump cabinet includes the likes of Elon Musk, who will lead the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency, former Fox & Friends co-host Pete Hegseth, who will head the Pentagon pending Senate confirmation, and Dr. Oz, who is set to be the next Medicare and Medicaid administrator, among others. Also among them is Sean Duffy, who rose to fame in the late 1990s on MTV's The Real World: Boston. If confirmed by the Senate, Duffy will serve as Trump's transportation secretary.

Donald Trump during the filming of the live final TVE episode of The Celebrity Apprentice on May 16 2010 in New York City. Trump hosted the reality competition show "The Apprentice," and its spinoff, "The... Donald Trump during the filming of the live final TVE episode of The Celebrity Apprentice on May 16 2010 in New York City. Trump hosted the reality competition show "The Apprentice," and its spinoff, "The Celebrity Apprentice," for more than a decade before becoming the President of the United States. More Bill Tompkins/Getty

Unlike the career politicians who were picked for Trump's first cabinet, all of these new officials are well-known outside of politics — and even Trumpworld in general — and each will bring the eyeballs of their own cultivated audiences onto the next administration.

"In a way, Donald Trump is kind of creating the 'influencer' cabinet," H. Alan Scott, Newsweek's senior culture editor, said. "People have been influenced by Pete Hegseth for many, many years on Fox News and other things that he's done. To have then that person be a figure within the administration, to be a visual presence, it immediately connects [Trump] with the audience that has been with that person for however many years."

Throughout the 2024 election cycle, Trump's campaign drew flack from some seasoned politicos for trying to appeal to low propensity voters, especially young men. Those critics argued it was a misguided strategy that would fail to secure a reliable voting bloc for the GOP, while praising Vice President Kamala Harris for targeting young women, who are likely to become faithful Democrats down the line.

In the end, Trump ended proving wrong the voices that questioned if the "bro vote" would turn out. Men aged 19-29 ultimately broke for Republicans for the first time in the last four elections, decisively choosing Trump by a whopping 13-point margin. And now, Trump may prove pundits wrong again, holding onto those voters with an administration that comes with strong name recognition.

Republican supporters celebrate during an election night watch party on November 6, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin. Former President Donald Trump flipped Wisconsin and won young men in the 2024 election by 13 points. Republican supporters celebrate during an election night watch party on November 6, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin. Former President Donald Trump flipped Wisconsin and won young men in the 2024 election by 13 points. Andy Manis/Getty Images

"For a millennial generation to see Sean Duffy, the lumberjack from Real World in the administration, a) makes me feel old, but b) I immediately know who this person is," Scott said. "I have this connection with them and in a small, small way—outside of politics, outside of ideological beliefs—makes me, as a politically disconnected person, connected to politics."

But aside from the cast, one of the biggest parallels between The Celebrity Apprentice, which aired on NBC for eight seasons, and the next White House will be Trump himself.

"Celebrity Apprentice is not like The Amazing Race or a real competition show that's objective," the veteran gossip blogger Perez Hilton told Newsweek. "Apprentice was always subjective at the end of the day. It was really [Trump's] opinion at the end of the day, and ultimately, he would most likely always go for whomever would give better television."

"Having said that, he's still looking for loyalty," Hilton said. "So, even if you were good TV, but not a loyal person to Donald Trump or if you disrespected him, he did not take kindly to that."

The loyalty test had already been established during the first Trump term. His last administration was a revolving door of characters who often failed to carry out his wishes, or would even betray him. His former fixer, Michael Cohen, has been the most obvious example of that. After a decade of moving in Trump's inner circle, Cohen was kicked to the curb after he began cooperating with federal prosecutors investigating Trump.

And so, Scott said the one thing we can continue to expect from Trump is his infamous catchphrase; "You're fired!"

"All of these people, they will inevitably be fired by Donald Trump, because that's how Donald Trump works. He loves to fire people because that's his brand. That's The Apprentice. That's what he does," Scott said.

Trump, his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric, and Season 13 contestants attend the "Celebrity Apprentice All Stars" Season 13 Press Conference at Jack Studios on October 12, 2012 in New York City. Like the... Trump, his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric, and Season 13 contestants attend the "Celebrity Apprentice All Stars" Season 13 Press Conference at Jack Studios on October 12, 2012 in New York City. Like the show, which features celebrities competing as apprentices, the incoming administration will include a string of well-recognized names. More Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images

Scott said he expects Hegseth to be the first to go, for no other reason that he'll likely get more attention than Trump thanks to his telegenic appearance. He said Senator Marco Rubio, who is expected to be easily confirmed as the next secretary of state, could follow soon after because his establishment views might pit him at odds with Trump's more unconventional approaches, setting the two up for a public clash.

Hilton also thinks Musk will likely have a fallout with Trump over the next four years, given the amount of attention he commands and his trajectory as one of the most influential people in the world.

"There will come a point in four years when Trump is no longer president, but Elon will likely still be one of the top five richest people on planet," Hilton said.

On the other hand, Scott anticipates that Trump's attorney general pick, Pam Bondi, who's long been an ally of the president-elect, will likely be an enduring figure because "she seems like a person who will do anything Trump wants."

But no matter how things shake out, most of these Cabinet picks will find another way to be relevant. That's the culture that's being shaped by Trump, a reality-TV-star-turned-two-time-commander-in-chief.

"When these people inevitably get fired, they will go on to other things," Scott said. "They will either go back to television or they will run for other political office. And in some way, Trump is taking that world of reality—that we know him so well from—and melding the world between politics and reality, in a way that reality television is almost an auditioning platform for other things like elected office."

Several of Trump's former officials have already proved that the pipeline works. One of his former White House press secretaries is now the governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Another, Kayleigh McEnamy, is now a co-host on Fox News' Outnumbered. And a third former press secreatry, Sean Spicer, competed on Dancing with the Stars. Alyssa Farah Griffin, who was Trump's White House director of strategic communication druring his first term, is now a co-host on the daytime talk show The View.

Trump attends the "All-Star Celebrity Apprentice" Red Carpet Event at Trump Tower on April 16, 2013 in New York City. Trump will be inaugurated as the president for the second time in history on Monday. Trump attends the "All-Star Celebrity Apprentice" Red Carpet Event at Trump Tower on April 16, 2013 in New York City. Trump will be inaugurated as the president for the second time in history on Monday. Desiree Navarro/WireImage

"How Trump works in the White House is a lot like RuPaul Drag Race," Scott said. "People are chosen to perform a task, and ultimately, no matter how well they do at that task, Trump is the ultimate decider on whether they 'sashay away' or 'Shantay, you stay.' And he's more known for 'sashay away' than 'Shantay, you stay.'"

"Because of that, he's created a White House that is very much like The Apprentice. It is very much like America's Next Top Model or Drag Race in that everything does come back to Trump," Scott said. "If Trump doesn't like it, no matter how well you do at the challenge, Trump will still be like, 'You're fired.'"