Why NBC Didn't Want Ivanka Trump to Replace Her Father on “The Apprentice”, According to New Book

In "Apprentice in Wonderland," Donald Trump says that he hoped his children would lead the show in his absence, but the network had reservations

Donald Trump wanted his daughter Ivanka Trump to take over The Apprentice in his stead, a new book reveals, but NBC had other ideas.

In Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass, author and Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh shares interviews with members of the Trump family, NBC executives and former contestants and boardroom advisers.

Among other topics, the book unpacks Trump's dream succession plan as he prepared to run for president in 2015. His vision didn't involve his eventual replacement, actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, according to a preview from Variety.

Related: Donald Trump and Arnold Schwarzenegger: A History of Their Feud

“I said, ‘The best person to hire would be Ivanka Trump,’” Donald tells Setoodeh in the book. “I didn’t press it. But I felt Ivanka would have been by far the best person you could hire.”

Donald reportedly pitched that Ivanka could lead the Apprentice brand, and her brothers Don Jr. and Eric could co-star as boardroom advisers. The three were frequently appearing on the show by the time Donald made his transition to politics, and he believed they would be the best trio to carry it forward without him.

Related: Donald Trump's History with the 'Rigged' Emmy Awards - 'The Apprentice' Has Lost Eight Times

“It was going to be the three of us,” Eric confirms to Setoodeh, in a book excerpt shared by Variety. “There were talks for a little while about it.”

Ultimately, though, the network went in a different direction. “NBC didn’t like it, because it became like a family thing,” Donald says in the book. “But I said, ‘There’s nobody you’re going to hire that will come even close to Ivanka.’ They said, ‘Huh…’ And then they came back with Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

The New Celebrity Apprentice, starring Schwarzenegger, premiered in 2017 and was canceled after one season. The former governor stepped down from the show, saying that it had too much "baggage" by being associated with Donald's presidency.

“With Trump being involved in the show people have a bad taste and don’t want to participate as a spectator or as a sponsor or in any other way support the show,” Schwarzenegger told Empire magazine. “It’s a very divisive period now and I think this show got caught up in all that division.”

Related: Arnold Schwarzenegger Claps Back After Donald Trump Digs at Him Over 'Celebrity Apprentice' Ratings

NBC cut ties with Donald in 2015 over racist remarks he made about Mexican immigrants during his presidential campaign launch, which may not have helped his case to make his children the new face of the Apprentice franchise.

Ivanka, Don Jr. and Eric all ended up joining their father on the campaign trail amid the fallout, further distancing themselves from the entertainment world that helped put the Trumps in the spotlight.

Related: Donald Trump Will 'Never' Return to 'The Celebrity Apprentice', NBC Says

“I think it’s pretty hard to say we’re going to run with reality TV in a time when you’re talking about ending nuclear proliferation around the world,” Eric says in the book, about how television and politics aren't very compatible. “I’m not sure the two could have worked in tandem.”

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Apprentice in Wonderland, which explores how the reality show franchise catapulted Donald Trump's career and changed United States history, will be published by HarperCollins on June 18.

It follows the success of Setoodeh's 2019 book, Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of "The View," which landed on The New York Times Best Seller list for its exhaustive breakdown of The View's controversies through the years and the show's grip on American culture.

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