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LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Donald Trump
is currently starring in a hit reality show for NBC, but television is not his
primary occupation. Therefore, he has no need to choose his words as carefully
as most people who appear at the TV Critics Association press tour. So when a reporter asked the billionaire real-estate mogul about
CBS' attempts to blunt the ratings impact of "The Apprentice" -- in
which 16 would-be captains of industry compete to land a job working for Trump
-- he wasn't shy about offering his opinion on the competition and its CEO,
Leslie Moonves. "Apprentice" executive producer Mark Burnett, who was
with Trump and who also produces one of CBS' biggest hits,
"Survivor," feigned leaving the stage at first, then sat quietly
while Trump unloaded on Moonves while the reporters in attendance scribbled
furiously to take down his comments. "Les Moonves is the most highly
overrated person in television," Trump said. "I rented him a space
for his morning show that doesn't get any ratings ['The Early Show'] ... he
paid me a fortune." Trump also appeared on "Access Hollywood" earlier this
week, saying Moonves should lose his job. Both networks have shuffled their schedules for this week in
reaction to the strong debut of "The Apprentice," which brought in
nearly 18.5 million viewers in its debut last week. NBC had planned to move the
show to its regular spot, 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, this week. In response, CBS
scheduled a new episode of television's top-rated show, "CSI,"
opposite Trump and Co. Wednesday. NBC then changed its mind and decided to give "The
Apprentice" another shot on Thursday, following "Friends." CBS
then moved the "CSI" episode back to its regular timeslot at 9 p.m.
Thursday and scheduled a "Cold Case" rerun for 8 p.m. Wednesday. Trump's beef with Moonves may go deeper than just a race for
ratings. Trump owns the Miss Universe pageant, which aired on CBS for a number
of years until NBC picked it up in 2003. CBS says it decided not to renew the
pageant's contract in the wake of low ratings, while Trump asserts that he
pulled it from CBS to take to NBC. "If [Moonves] does say he dropped it, remind him that I have
his letters" indicating otherwise, Trump says. Following its move to NBC this summer, the Miss Universe pageant
earned its best ratings in five years. A CBS spokesperson couldn't be reached for comment on Trump's
statements. The Donald took one final shot at Moonves before moving on to other
topics. "If he were a contestant on ['The Apprentice'], he would have
been fired by the third episode," Trump says. "And unlike most
people, I like Les Moonves." Jen -- |
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