‘Apprentice’ role for Trump opens door for questions
It’s more conflict of interest.
“I think it’s weird,” said Newt Gingrich, a close campaign ally of Mr. Trump, holding back chuckles during a Fox News interview. “Donald J. Trump is going to be the executive producer of a thing called the American government. He is going to have this huge TV show called ‘Leading the World.’”
Added Mr. Gingrich: “I think he’s still going through some transition things here, where it hasn’t quite sunk in.”
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…NBC’s parent company, Comcast, is a media conglomerate regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, which Mr. Trump will now oversee. And sponsors of the show’s new season — including Carnival Cruise Line and Welch’s — may have their own priorities in Washington.
“My concern is that if NBC is possibly going to cancel the show because of ratings, they might have second thoughts because of the F.C.C. and other agencies he controls,” said Robert M. Stern, former president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, which focuses on ethics reform.
Mr. Stern noted that government agencies would be regulating a variety of businesses owned by Comcast. If executives were to interfere with the “Apprentice,” he said, they might wonder, “What would the president do to us? Or what would his F.C.C. do to us?”
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