Bill Rancic remains Donald Trump’s No. 1 “Apprentice” 20 years after winning the business competition series.
Although there have been claims of racism and toxicity behind the scenes of the former NBC reality show, Rancic maintains that the former president treated him “exceptionally well.”
“He was great to me,” the entrepreneur, 53, tells Pvnew exclusively while promoting his new “Dollar Bill with Bill Rancic” podcast.
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“He wanted to lift me up, wanted me to become very successful, and I think that’s his objective, you know, with what he’s doing now. He wants everyone to do really well.”
Rancic says “The Apprentice” taught him to “work hard” because Trump, 78, never stopped giving his all day in and day out — no matter the time zone.
“When I used to travel around the world with him, he was the first guy at it, last guy to call it a day,” the restaurateur recalls.
“It was exhausting … and it was hard to keep up with him, I’ll tell you that.”
Rancic faced off against 15 other contestants on the first season of “The Apprentice” in 2004 and ultimately was hired by Trump over fellow finalist Kwame Jackson. During his tenure with the real estate magnate’s company, he oversaw the construction of Trump Tower Chicago.
“No one should outwork you,” the “You’re Hired” author says of what he learned from the once-again presidential nominee.
Rancic previously enthused about Trump right after the Republican candidate won the 2016 election, crediting his campaign’s “hard work.”
“You saw him on that campaign trail. He was doing six, seven, eight, 10 stops a day,” the RPM Italian co-owner told CNBC at the time.
“I think he expects the same from the people that work with him and that he’s going to surround himself with.”
