The Ivanka Trump Reality Show That Crashed and Burned
Image by Getty
By Thea Glassman January 9, 2017
Last week, Donald Trump declared that he is a “ratings machine.” In a two-part Twitter rant, the president-elect blasted Arnold Schwarzenegger, the new host of Trump’s brainchild “Celebrity Apprentice,” for pulling in low ratings.
“Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got ‘swamped’ (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT. So much for being a movie star – and that was season 1 compared to season 14. Now compare him to my season 1. But who cares, he supported Kasich & Hillary,” Trump tweeted.
Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got “swamped” (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT. So much for….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2017
being a movie star-and that was season 1 compared to season 14. Now compare him to my season 1. But who cares, he supported Kasich & Hillary
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2017
While earlier seasons of Trump’s reality show were indeed a ratings hit, he seems to be pointedly ignoring some of his other television ventures, which — hide your eyes, president-elect — crashed and burned.
Case in point, a beauty pageant competition show allegedly set up as vehicle for Ivanka Trump to establish a footing in television.
“Trump Town Girls,” Jezebel reported, revolved around beauty pageant contestants selected by Donald Trump, competing against Trump International Realty brokers. According to promo materials for the show, the women needed to do “whatever it [took](watch the very cringe-y trailer here, which includes many clips of women repeatedly cooing the words “Mr. Trump”).
“[Ivanka] was a very hot commodity with networks,” a source told Jezebel. “Everybody wanted to do a show with her, an aspirational Trump show featuring her.”
The show never ended up airing, allegedly because the Trump team feared that the series and cast weren’t interesting enough.
Other scrapped television projects that blow up the president-elect’s ratings claim?
“The Girls of Hedsor Hall,” a series about “out-of-control young women” sent to a British finishing school, that was canceled after one season, and “Donald J. Trump Presents: The Ultimate Merger,” a dating show, which only made it to the second season.
Thea Glassman is an associate editor at the Forward. Contact her at [email protected]
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
