NPR

6 Lessons About Trump From Season 1 Of 'The Apprentice'

The show's 2004 debut season played a crucial role in shaping President Trump's image as a savvy businessman. But behind the scenes, one former producer says, Trump also used some "despicable words."

The drama. The loyalty. The speculation about who stays and who goes. The Trump administration has it all. And so did Donald Trump's run on The Apprentice.

The personality that made the show a hit is also what propelled Trump to the presidency. But as with his administration, Trump also stirred controversy on the set. A former producer tells the NPR podcast Embedded that at times, Trump used "really unfathomably despicable words" while the cameras were rolling — remarks that have never been made public.

Of course, people weren't watching then for insight into how the show's star would eventually approach the presidency or what effect it would have on his public political image. But in retrospect, there are a handful of lessons that say something about the man now in the Oval Office.

1. Questionable language

In October 2016, just before the election, an tape emerged of about women, saying, "[W]hen you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything." When that story broke, former producer Bill Pruitt tweeted that there were "far

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