Andy DehnartDonald Trump fired candidate Anand Vasudev on The Apprentice 7 last night after Anand was confronted about violating the show’s rules, lied about it, and then confessed he both lied and broke the rules.
Unlike the surprise firings such as Trump’s bizarre public shaming of Khloe Kardashian, this was both rational and amazing television. Speaking of Khloe, Trump demonstrated some incredible hypocrisy later: The episode’s task was product placement for Kim Kardashian’s perfume, and Trump told Kim, and I quote, “Khloe is terrific. She really is; she did great on the show, and he’s a terrific person, just like you are.” He apparently forgot that 1) he fired her, and 2) he basically said he hated her.
At the beginning of the episode, when Trump broached the subject of text message cheating with Anand, the contestant first said, “That is not true, sir. I have not been texting anybody regarding money. Absolutely not.” Later, he admitted lying and said “I want to stay here.” Trump turned this into a lesson about the economy: “This is why the country’s gotten into such trouble. this is the kind of thinking that we’ve been witnessing on Wall Street the last five years,” he said.
The best part, though, is the whole confrontation, because Trump knows he has evidence, and when Anand lies, it just makes it even more jucy. Trump reacts calmly and then reads the message Anand sent:
“Come to Trump Tower from 10 to 1:30 p.m. Bring at least $50 cash. Pretend like you don’t know me. Need you to buy a pedicab ride from me or one of my teammates. I’m project manager so my ass is on the line. I’m getting close to the top. I won’t have my phone with me so just come by and pretend like we don’t know each other.”
And boom, Trump’s nailed him, just like Judge Judy would. When Anand insists no one responded, Trump said, “it’s because they don’t respect you they didn’t come.” Best of all: Annad didn’t even get a cab ride of shame, he just had to walk away.
Here’s the relevant boardroom segment: