Donald Trump today flooded the morning infotainment zone to talk about the lawsuit filed by the New York Attorney General re Trump University. The lawsuit could not have come at a better time for Trump, what with NBC having not made any announcement about Trump’s competition series Celebrity Apprentice since Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt said less than a month back the network had not yet made a decision about ordering another cycle.
Meanwhile, NBC’s reality-TV chief Paul Telegdy said the decision will be made strictly “based on our considerations if it still rates.” Those two execs’ statements about the program came about two months after Trump tweeted, on the eve of NBC’s upfront presentation to advertisers, that the show had been picked up; sources later said that was the result of a misunderstanding.
During NBC’s slice of Summer TV Press Tour 2013, Telegdy, while talking about how NBC would make its decision about another round of Celebrity Apprentice, also noted Trump’s “opinions are not reflective of anyone sitting on this panel.” Good thing too because, Trump, on ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN’s New Day, and FNC’s Fox & Friends this morning called NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman a “hack,” said he filed the lawsuit after meeting with President Obama, suggested the lawsuit is “a mini IRS” and that the Tea Party might want to investigate.
Schneiderman on Saturday sued Trump for $40 million, claiming Trump used his celebrity status to get students to attend a free seminar at which they’re urged to pay about $1,500 for a three-day workshop, during which is pitched a $34,995 course.
Schneiderman says many of the 5,000 students who paid up to $35,000 thought they would at least meet Trump but instead all they got was their picture taken in front of a life-size picture of the Apprentice/Celebrity Apprentice star.
During his morning TV rounds, Trump noted the lawsuit was filed just a couple days after Schneiderman met with President Obama. “He sits up in my office asking me for campaign contributions, he’s been there numerous times. He’s a political hack. He figures by going after Trump, he can get some publicity, which he will get, but we’ll try and make it uncomfortable as possible,” Trump told Fox & Friends. “They meet on Thursday evening. I get sued…on Saturday at one o’clock…What government agency in the history of this country has ever brought a suit on a Saturday? I never heard of such a thing,” Trump said. “Maybe this is a mini IRS. Maybe we have to get the Tea Party after these people because this could very well be a mini IRS.”
Schneiderman who also appeared on CNN this morning, acknowledged he did meet with Obama Thursday, but insisted they never discussed Trump.
Trump’s attorney has accused Schneiderman of trying to extort campaign contributions from the real estate mogul through his investigation of Trump. The AP reports State Board of Elections records show Trump contributed $12,500 to Schneiderman in October 2010, when Schneiderman was running for attorney general. Schneiderman insisted Monday the lawsuit is part of a larger effort targeting deceptive for-profit school, and that Trump is trying to propagate scandal for publicity. “He is a showman. He doesn’t seem to think there is any such thing as a bad headline,” Schneiderman said.
Trump wins that round.
Must Read Stories
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.