Trump’s celebrity friends are revising 'The Apprentice' on taxpayers' dime

Nicki Minaj at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, January 28, 2026. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok/Flickr)

Before his successful campaign 2016, President Donald Trump's most recent job had been hosting the popular reality TV show "The Apprentice" for a decade. Now Trump is reviving a version of that program in his new term — one that will be hosted by his controversial celebrity supporters and supported by the taxpayer-funded Small Business Administration (SBA).

"The Small Business Administration is bringing a celebrity panel to Washington next month to judge five entrepreneurs competing for a share of a $1 million prize pool, Fox News Digital has exclusively learned," reported Fox News' Ashley J. DiMella on Monday. She then quoted SBA Administration Kelly Loeffler, who said that "as our nation marks its 250th anniversary, the SBA is celebrating America’s legacy of free enterprise through the Million Dollar Pitch Competition — a historic live event showcasing the essential contributions of America’s small businesses."

DiMella further reported, "Entrepreneurs from across the nation submitted their ideas earlier this year, leaving five finalists to participate in a live pitch competition in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18. Rapper Nicki Minaj, entrepreneur and private equity fund manager Grant Cardone, co-founder of Airbnb and U.S. Chief Design Office Joe Gebbia will judge the final competition. Award-winning actor Dean Cain will host the event, Fox News Digital has exclusively learned."

Each of those figures comes with their own list of controversies. Cardone is a member of the controversial Church of Scientology, which critics like former member Leah Remini have accused of engaging in abusive behavior, and he has been sued for allegedly exaggerating his various business ventures on social media. Minaj, who has emerged as one of Trump's most outspoken pop star supporters, has lost many of her fans because of Trump's anti-LGBTQ and anti-immigrant policies. Gebbia faced controversy for accepting a job for Trump to improve Americans' experiences on government websites even though, according to technology reporter Audrey Henson, "his position requires no Senate confirmation, which means he files no financial disclosures, which means the office he runs does not appear in any federal procurement database, which means, as far as the official record is concerned, it barely exists."

According to DiMella, "the five finalists are defense technology company Compotech, Inc. in Brewer, ME, metalworking machinery manufacturer Winton Machine in Suwanee, GA, plastic mold manufacturing company Plas-Tech Tooling in Garner, IA, pressure vessel manufacturer Red River in Gillette, WY and machinery manufacturing firm VetPowered LLC in San Diego, CA."

She added, "No finalist will go empty-handed with the first-place winner scoring $400,000, second place winning $250,000, third place gets $150,000 and fourth place will take home $125,000, leaving fifth place with $75,000."

This is not the first time Trump has taken the practices he engaged in while hosting "The Apprentice" (as well as its spin-off show "The Celebrity Apprentice") to the White House. Whenever "The Apprentice" was snubbed for Emmy nominations, he claimed to have been cheated, which foreshadowed his refusal to accept the results of his losses in the 2016 Iowa Republican caucuses, the 2016 presidential election's popular vote and the 2020 presidential election. He has also clearly stated that if the 2026 midterm elections do not go his way, he will claim they were stolen from him.

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