Twenty years after TV producer Mark Burnett gave Donald Trump a job on The Apprentice, Trump is giving Burnett a job in his administration.
On Saturday, December 21, Trump announced in a Truth Social post that he’s appointing Burnett as his Special Envoy to the United Kingdom.
“With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark brings a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international recognition to this important role,” the president-elect wrote. “Mark is known for creating and producing some of the biggest shows in television history, including Survivor, Shark Tank, The Voice, and, most notably, The Apprentice. He is the former chairman of MGM and has won 13 Emmy Awards!”
(Burnett was actually chairman of MGM’s Worldwide Television Group, not all of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, per The Hollywood Reporter.)
In his envoy position, Burnett will “work to enhance diplomatic relations, focusing on areas of mutual interest, including trade, investment opportunities, and cultural exchanges,” Trump added.
U.S. presidents typically pick envoys for geopolitical hotspots, not for one of the United States’ strongest allies, according to the Associated Press. Furthermore, it’s not clear how Burnett’s post will overlap with the more customary role of U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, for which Trump has tapped billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens.
Burnett’s relationship with Trump goes back more than two decades. The New York Times reported recently that it was Burnett and other producers of The Apprentice who sold TV viewers on the idea that Trump was a billionaire businessman in 2004, glossing over Trump’s bankrupt properties and failing businesses.
“Our job was to make him look legitimate, to make him look like there was something behind it, even though we pretty much all knew that there wasn’t — but that was our job,” producer Jonathon Braun told the newspaper.
Burnett has offered both praise and criticism of The Apprentice’s lead star. In a 2010 interview with the BBC, he called Trump “fearless” and “a big, strong tough guy.”
Related‘The Apprentice’ Producer Breaks Silence on Donald Trump Using ‘N-Word’ on Tape
“He is a very, very down-to-earth normal guy, and he’s a really, really loyal friend and, as I’ve seen him with many other people, not the kind of enemy you would want,” Burnett said at the time, per BBC News.
In 2016, following Trump’s Access Hollywood scandal, Burnett released a statement clarifying that he had never been a supporter of Trump’s presidential candidacy. “I am not ‘pro-Trump,’” he said at the time, per The Hollywood Reporter. “Further, my wife [actor Roma Downey] and I reject the hatred, division, and misogyny that has been a very unfortunate part of his campaign.”
More Headlines:
‘Earth Abides’ Star Aaron Tveit Reacts to His Villainous Character’s Fate: ‘He’s Really Surprised’Donald Trump Appoints ‘The Apprentice’ Producer Mark Burnett as Special Envoy to the United Kingdom‘Saturday Night Live’ Wraps Up 2024 With Star-Studded Five-Timers Club Cold Open (VIDEO)‘NCIS’ Boss Rules Out One Lily Theory, Teases Parker’s ‘Messed up History’‘Landman’: Michelle Randolph Teases More Romance & What Ainsley Needs to Be Happy
