January 6, 2017

"'Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got 'swamped' (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT."

Trump just tweeted to exult over his superiority to Schwarzenegger.
'So much for being a movie star - and that was season 1 compared to season 14,' Trump tweeted.

'Now compare him to my season 1. But who cares, he supported [Ohio Governor John] Kasich & [Democratic nominee] Hillary Clinton.'
The President-elect is taunting a movie star on Twitter. That's something new.

We watched the first episode of "The Apprentice." Arnold was trying to step into the role that Trump originated, and it was obvious that the actor was acting. What do you expect? He's a bad actor. By contrast, Trump was acting too, but he was better at the role than Arnold. Maybe that's not such a huge deal, Arnold being quite a bad actor. The key to the role is seeming to be intimidating the contestants while deserving of their respect and provoking their desire to win his respect. Trump did that convincingly... and moved on.

I do like Boy George, who is one of the contestants on the new season. And I wondered what Boy George has said about Trump (because that relates to whether Trump would say "who cares?" about  him). I found this rather cagey statement:
“A lot of my friends are really, really upset but I reminded them a that they were still them. You’re always you and you bring the same to the party that you did always,” singer Boy George told Billboard... on Nov. 17. “For a lot of gay people, mainstream politics really isn’t where we find the answer. We find the answer in our own community by joining together. There’s an amazing kind of spirit in the LGBTQ community and you saw that through the AIDS epidemic and you see it so much every day. I’m not sure how much it relates to mainstream politics.”
I wish more celebrities would take that distanced approach. Ah, but there's this tweet (from just before the election):
I saw a list of celebrity Trump supporters, some quite surprising ones but I blocked them all. My timeline feels sanitised!
Were there any celebrity Trump supporters? And Boy George had been following them? Hard to believe.

ADDED: Schwarzenegger responded: "I wish you the best of luck and I hope you'll work for ALL of the American people as aggressively as you worked for your ratings."

63 comments:

Ignorance is Bliss said...

For a lot of gay people... We...

Boy George is gay?!?

Jason said...

Boy George is a kidnapper, sadist and violent rapist. It's a joke that we let his criminal ass into the country.

traditionalguy said...

Milo, Milo he's our man. He is an out and proud gay Breitbart guy who has a traveling Debate With Feminists Tour of college campuses, and now a book deal!

Arnold S is a real Austrian Nazi and probably a distant relative of Herr Schickelgruber, the famous landscape painter who reworked much of the landscape in Europe.

traditionalguy said...

Back to the Tweet, that one proves Trump has no fear of the Media. They whine about Presidentialness and @realDonaldTrump whacks his attackers back.

The Bush Dynasty's refusal to fight back style of Presidents is gone with the wind.

tcrosse said...

The Eighties called. They want their celebrities back.

Oso Negro said...

Is Boy George an important spokesman for the homosexual community? Do gay/gay friendly/gay family households find him inspirational or use his missives for guidance?

Chuck said...

Trump is going to put The Onion out of business.

Sebastian said...

“For a lot of gay people, mainstream politics really isn’t where we find the answer. We find the answer in our own community by joining together. There’s an amazing kind of spirit in the LGBTQ community and you saw that through the AIDS epidemic and you see it so much every day." True and not true. Progs needed the courts to get around "mainstream politics" but do need "mainstream politics" to keep up massive AIDS funding.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

I dunno, wasn't Arnold subject to some sexual harassment/groping/"pussy grabbing" allegations not too long ago? I guess that all blew over...maybe it was just more interesting when Ahhnuld could be used as a stand-in for "Republicans."

Semi-related: Bill Burr: Arnold S. - A Great Man

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

These shows have a shelf life. It was exciting in the beginning - now it's old and busted. Not Arnold's fault.

William said...

There's so much I don't understand here. I thought Trump had some kind of financial interest in The Apprentice. Wouldn't it behoove him to speak well of the show. Is this some kind of bank shot to increase interest in the show?.....How did Boy George become a spokesman for the gay community? Neither his background nor his music are particularly inspriting........Schwarzenegger made some terrific movies despite having no particular acting talent . That's, in some way, more of an achievement than making a successful movie with acting talent. He did it with pure brute strength.

traditionalguy said...

This being a Breast Blog, it is proper to point out Arnold never grabbed them by the pussy. He always grabbed them by the breasts, and he apparently was not right handed more than left handed, but was ambi-grabberous. Trump would have fired him for not grabbing correctly.

walter said...

"I saw a list of celebrity Trump supporters, some quite surprising ones but I blocked them all. My timeline feels sanitised! "
--
Effective!

320Busdriver said...

Pretty funny exchange between K Couric and M Lauer this am after this tweet was discussed.

Couric asks Lauer, "Isn't he(djt) the executive producer of that show?"

Lauer, "Uh, yeah" rolls eyes

Bob Boyd said...

To be fair, Arnold has to albatrosses (albatri?) around his neck. Donald Trump and Boy George.

Bob Boyd said...

Missed the "w". That should be two.

Static Ping said...

Honestly, I find Ahnold to be a good to great actor in movies that are appropriate for his talents. He does an excellent job in action movies and he has been surprisingly good in some comedies. He is absolutely not the guy you want doing Shakespeare*. When I saw they were going to use him in The Apprentice I was baffled at the choice. I am pretty sure he has been a businessman but he's not known for it and the whole action hero/one-liner/badass thing does not translate well.

* Actually, Ahnold did do Shakespeare, sorta, once. In the thoroughly mediocre Last Action Hero there is an imagine spot of him as Hamlet. It is probably the best part of the movie. Of course, Ahnold turns it into a bloodbath, or at least more of a bloodbath than the original. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq8NXpK-Zng

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

Is Couric back on TV? She just got caught making fake news in her gun grabbing documentary.

Wow the media sure is doing their best to wipe out fake news.

Uh yeah, rolls eyes.

Scott M said...

He's a bad actor.

I always thought so too, going on decades now, and then I saw Schwarzenegger in "Maggie", a very dark, tragic, sad, story. Ahhnahld nailed that one.

Chuck said...

But Trump is still -- as I understand it -- an Executive Producer of The New Celebrity Apprentice. Why would he bad mouth a show for which he is a producer? Does anybody know?

I sort of suspect that as part of recent divestments on his part for the ethics panelists, Trump may have abandoned that role. And as a final, petulant middle finger to the enterprise, he posted that Tweet.

It's only a theory.

bagoh20 said...

He was a great body builder, the perfect Terminator, a cowardly governor, and bad husband, but worst of all a traitorous Republican. Like a rocket with an incredible and unlikely ascent, and a long irreversible fall. It's like the maid drained him of all his testosterone. Now he's just a girly man.

Kathryn51 said...

"Were there any celebrity Trump supporters? And Boy George had been following them? Hard to believe. "

I'm not sure how I came across it, but a couple of days ago I wandered onto David McCallum's FB page and he was celebrating the election on Nov. 9th. He may not be an A-lister now, but he will always be Illya Kuryakin to me. Somehow, I don't think that he and Boy George were ever FB friends.

Birkel said...

Chuck, who supports anything anti-Trump, has a theory.

News at 11.

Fen said...

chase that rabbit, Chuck. We're all counting on you...

Captain Drano said...

First show with Arnold was so incredibly bad he likely said it to try and get more people to watch.

(It wasn't just Arnold was bad, the entire line up was awful.)

FullMoon said...

I watched the first part of the show. It was very bad, so I assigned my wife the task of viewing the second half and providing a synopsis. I was relieved that Trump restrained himself from tweeting how terrible the debut was. Finally, I thought, he has learned to show some restraint. Oh, well. Hopefully Scott Adams will tell me how this is a good thing.

Chuck said...

Birkel, somewhere I suppose there is a Venn diagram of All Things Trump, and All Things Republican.

There is some overlap, as in any good Venn diagram.

And so, I don't believe that I could sign a blanket agreement to "support anything anti-Trump." I know that there are some things that I support, which are merely tarnished because Trump also supports them. Trump takes the joy and the intelligence out of most things. But I can still support them on principle alone.

Chuck said...

Is this the belated explanation for the 2016 election? Did Trump win all of "The Apprentice" and "Celebrity Apprentice" viewers?

I have never once watched an entire episode of either one. I saw several minutes of one episode where Respected Journalist Geraldo Rivera was trying to help write an advertising jingle.

FullMoon said...

Chuck said...

But Trump is still -- as I understand it -- an Executive Producer of The New Celebrity Apprentice. Why would he bad mouth a show for which he is a producer? Does anybody know?


I know, but I am sworn to secrecy.

john said...

As for me, I'm happy that Trump is prepared to both bear the burdens of the entire free world using only half his brain and one hand, and, with the other hand, to keep up a steady stream of tweets on the critically important matters of the day.

Dexterity.

fivewheels said...

There were a certain number of celebrity Trump voters, depending on how elastic your definition of celebrity is. Plenty of athletes, predictably, including Tom Brady. Charlie Sheen, Kid Rock, Gene Simmons, Hulk Hogan, a bunch of Celebrity Apprentice alums.

traditionalguy said...

Too bad Joan Rivers has mysteriously died. She could have opened for Trump on Inauguration Day speech rally and told some more of her jokes about Obama being gay because Michelle is a man. And then she could cell phone order a take out a hot Pizza from Comet Pizza to give to Hillary as a consolation prize. But that would just cause the entire earth's Media to cut her mike.

Birkel said...

Chuck, who supports anything anti-Trump: "Trump takes the joy and the intelligence out of most things."

We have watched Trump strip you of intelligence. But you also deliver great joy in your kvetching. So I rate this comment half true.

Birkel said...

Chuck, who supports anything anti-Trump: "...Respected Journalist Geraldo Rivera..."

For the life of me, and after great Google searching, I can attest no such person exists.

tcrosse said...

Too bad Love Boat no longer exists as a way to give has-beens exposure.

J. Farmer said...

Thanks to Britain's progressive legal system, Boy George did four months for kidnapping and beating a man with a chain and threatening him with violent sexual assault. But I digress. Like most modern leftist identity politics, gay liberals tend to celebrate diversity of everything except thoughts and opinion--the only kind of diversity that actually matters.

Unknown said...

if he is exectutive produced, doesn't he have financial incentive to gin up controversy, and thus ratings and thus ad money? seems obvious that this was concerted strategy by both men

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Birkel said...
Chuck, who supports anything anti-Trump: "...Respected Journalist Geraldo Rivera..."

For the life of me, and after great Google searching, I can attest no such person exists.


I am almost positive that's sarcasm, Birkel.

victoria said...

Like I said before, a classless comment from a classless man. Makes me gag to think of him in charge of anything, much less our country. Heaven help us.

Vicki from Pasadena

Birkel said...

HoodlumDoodlum:

You are suggesting Lifelong Republican Chuck was being sarcastic about Respected Journalist Geraldo Rivera, neither of which exist?

That is meta-meta and my mind is zoinked.

Birkel said...

victoria:

Had you spent the last few decades arguing against the consolidation of governmental power in the federal government, and specifically the Executive Branch, somebody might be tempted to give a wet shit what you write.

I prefer intellectual consistency.

Martin said...

Ah, but when Trump was "acting" on The Apprentice he was playing one aspect of himself. That is acting of a fashion, but it is really just getting in the right frame and letting it all flow.

But this "Apprentice" persona is NOT one of Schwarzenegger's personality aspects--he has to REALLY act, which he is not good at. His successes came from doing what Trump did, getting into one aspect of himself and then flowing. Hell, his greatest role was as an emotionless, deadpan robot. Yes, it "terminated" people, but that is not the same as directing a team and culling the non-performers.

I really wonder what genius thought Ahnuld would be good for this... it is NOT a natural fit for him. My first reaction upon hearing this casting decision, months ago, was, and I quote: "WTF?"

Martin said...

As for celebrity Trump supporters--yes, some C&W stars and NASCAR drivers. A few others--Belichik and Brady were sort of sympathetic to him, iirc--but not many (in public, anyway; the intimidation factor was and remains very big).

HoodlumDoodlum said...

victoria said...
Like I said before, a classless comment from a classless man. Makes me gag to think of him in charge of anything, much less our country. Heaven help us.


Classless, sure, Vicki. But folks on your side of the political aisle have been attacking that idea of "class" and social propriety for nigh on five decades now--the Left owns American pop culture and pop culture is filth. It's silly to complain now; "oh, how terrible, a vulgarian has gained prominence!" You guys have been promoting vulgarity--as artistic, as brave, as a blow against repressive (social) conservatism--all my life. Suddenly you object! Silly.

Birkel said...

Martin,
I preferred Predator to Terminator. Is that not a widely held opinion?

Fernandinande said...

Ignorance is Bliss said...
For a lot of gay people... We...

Boy George is gay?!?


Boy George is a celebrity?!?

There are, er, "celebrities", who made me feel good about voting for Trump:
370 Economists: ‘Do Not Vote For Donald Trump’
70 Nobel Laureates Endorse Hillary Clinton
No kiddin'!

Fernandinande said...

Birkel said...
I preferred Predator to Terminator. Is that not a widely held opinion?

Imdb sez: Predator = 7.8; Terminator = 8.0.

My girlfriend hates The Terminator because of the humans' hair-dos, but I liked that scene where the biker, hair-do not recalled, puts out a cigar on his chest. Classy stuff!

Static Ping said...

Martin: Ah, but when Trump was "acting" on The Apprentice he was playing one aspect of himself. That is acting of a fashion, but it is really just getting in the right frame and letting it all flow.

This is a good point. One of the tricks of finding the right personality for professional wrestling is basically to take your current personality or a portion thereof and exaggerate it. The late Randy "The Macho Man" Savage admitted that his ring persona was basically him in real life taken to 11, to which he added that this explains why he lives alone. It is much easier to play the part of something you know than something you don't know.

The really great actors can play anything. However, this leaves open the question whether this is because they are truly capable of relating to everything, or if they have no real personality and are in a constant state of faking it.

Kate said...

Just off the top of my head:

James Woods
Stacey Dash
Scott Baio
Kirstie Alley
Roseanne Barr

I would bet Boy George followed at least one of those people.

J. Farmer said...

Fernandinande:

My girlfriend hates The Terminator because of the humans' hair-dos, but I liked that scene where the biker, hair-do not recalled, puts out a cigar on his chest.

That was actually in the opening scene of the second Terminator. In the first Terminator, Arnold confronts a group of new wave street punks like the ones Charles Bronson mows down in hilariously awful Death Wish 3. Arnold dispatches one of the punks by impaling him with his arm. The trio of punks included Brian Thompson, the villain in Cobra, and Bill Paxton.

Static Ping said...

My favorite Ahnold film is Terminator 2. I'll also note that the terminator he played in that film had more personality than the original killing machine which shows he does have some acting range. It's not a very wide range, but he's not just emotionless killbot #274.

If you forced me to choose, these are my top 5 performances by Ahnold:

Terminator 2
Total Recall
Conan the Barbarian
Kindergarten Cop
The Running Man


Note that these are not necessarily my Top 5 Ahnold films. Predator is awesome, but is not an acting heavy film.

victoria said...

Celebrity Apprentice has been and will always be like "Dancing with the Stars" Seriously, none of these people have ever been considered Celebrities or Stars. Low level, d-list personalities. Kyle Richards? Stop. Stop, stop. It was no better when Trump was the "Boss". I stopped watching it after the 1ast season. Boring, repetitive and not at all interesting. It amazes me that it got the ratings that it got for all those years. Never underestimate the ability of people to say that "popular" is "good". No no no.
Not to have people attack me for being a snob, I am totally hooked on the Housewives, BH, NY and NJ. Trashy but fun. But never "good". Entertaining but not good


Vicki from Pasadena

Fen said...

Yes Mr Life-long Conservative, Trump won the election due to all those ignorant toothless bitter clingers who watched The Apprentice.

Can I help you with your mask? It slipped yet again...

Fen said...

I thought Boy George died, looks like he's trying to be relevant. Comeback tour?

Kevin said...

Isn't Trump going to have to divest himself from any affiliation with the show?

Wouldn't that mean he benefits if the show is worse without his affiliation?

Wouldn't someone like Matt Lauer understand both of those points, since his job is to inform the American the American public?

J. Farmer said...

@Fen:

Comeback tour?

More like needs-money-to-fund-coke-habit.

walter said...


Blogger HoodlumDoodlum said...I am almost positive that's sarcasm, Birkel.
Yep..the CDS gets absurd at times.

Big Mike said...

Arnold a bad actor? I don't know. He's way better than Alec Baldwin, whom some find to be "wonderful."

Birkel said...

Unfair, walter. Tone does not reflect online without /sarc and the like. Or something so over the top as to be obvious.

Robert said...

"Were there any celebrity Trump supporters?"

A few here and there. James Woods, Roseanne Barr, Mike Tyson, Jon Voight, Kid Rock, Tom Brady, um...a few others I forget. Roseanne has gone quite nutty on twitter, though. Sorta worried for her mental health. Not because she backs Trump but...well, look at her Twitter and you'll see.....

Michael Fitzgerald said...

"The President-elect is taunting a movie star on Twitter. That's something new."
I am LMFAO! If ever there was a devious dishonest bully it's Schwarznegger- and getting sand kicked in his face by no less than the president-elect! OMFG DJT Rules!

Anonymous said...

Chuck, I'm glad to see you are still around fighting the good fight despite the knee-jerk abuse. Liked your Venn diagram imagery. I too am a lifelong conservative Republican who can't believe that people elected Trump and take him seriously. This is so sad for my party and my country. And Trump fans tend to respond to any criticism of Trump, or even any less-than-enthusiastic response, with a variation on "oh, you are just a butt-hurt libtard who is upset because Obummer and Killary are out of power." (not universally true, duly noted, but certainly a tendency among those who post online) The world is not that binary and I appreciate those like you, Chuck, who continue to point out that fact. One can be appalled by Trump without being an Obama fan. I certainly fit that bill.

Bad Lieutenant said...

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