Donald Trump: ‘I’m More Popular When I Fire People’

Donald Trump isn’t the most popular guy around, and he seems to be somewhat aware of it. The business magnate said in a recent interview that his popularity goes up when The Apprentice goes on and he gets an opportunity to do what he’s best-known for: Firing people.

“You know, it’s very interesting. When I do The Apprentice, what I do is I fire people,” Trump mused to Rolling Stone. “And polls came out and people said, ‘You know, Trump is so much nicer than we thought.’ Can you imagine, I fire people and now people like me better? I really must have had a terrible image before doing the show.”

Though NBC has been struggling with ratings lately, Trump considers his show a huge success:

“Well, it’s always been a success. It does terrific ratings. You know, the show was actually the Number One show on television during Season One. If it were not successful, I wouldn’t want to do it.”

But why is it such a huge success?

“It can only be because of Trump [laughs]. One thing about [the TV] business, it’s all about ratings. It’s simple: you can be a nice person or you can be a horrible human being. And if you get ratings, you’ll stay on.”

Trump is gearing up for a return in All-Star Celebrity Apprentice in March. He told The Associated Press that he thinks despite NBC’s ratings woes, The Apprentice will be a success this season.

“I do have an instinct,” Trump said. “Oftentimes, I’ll see shows go on and I’ll say, ‘That show will never make it,’ and I’m always right. And I understand talent. Does anybody ask me? No. But if they did, I would be doing them a big service. I know what people want.”

All-Star Celebrity Apprentice premieres March 3 at 9pm EST on NBC. Are you a fan of Donald Trump?