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 Trump's one-time admirers, most from racial minorities, urged the
New York billionaire to tamp down his divisive rhetoric as he
campaigns to succeed Democratic President Barack Obama in the Nov. 8
election.
"We are all disappointed and in some ways shocked to see what is
being spewed from Donald regarding his views on women, immigrants,
and the list goes on," said Randal Pinkett, winner of the 2005
fourth season of the reality television show.
"We strongly condemn Donald's campaign of sexism, xenophobia,
racism, violence and hate," he said at a news conference in
Manhattan. Pinkett said Trump "is not worthy of the highest office
of the land," and said there had been glimpses of those attitudes in
private conversations and time spent off-screen with Trump during
the making of the TV show.
Running for 14 seasons, "The Apprentice" gave Trump a national
platform, and his often blunt and unfiltered style helped make the
show a major hit. The show featured groups of business-minded
contestants vying for a titular apprenticeship in Trump's
organization. At its peak, nearly 21 million people watched the
show. Trump's proposals to ban Muslims from entering the United States and
to build a wall at the Mexican border have drawn criticism even
within his party. His campaign has been accused of tacitly
encouraging violence at large and rowdy rallies where Trump
supporters have at times clashed with protesters.
On Friday evening, as protests broke out at a rally in Hartford,
Connecticut, Trump belted out his usual response: "Get them out of
here!"
"I always say 'don't hurt that person, right?'" he said.
Pinkett told Reuters he had contacted former "apprentices" and said
their effort was independent and timed to precede New York state's
crucial primary election on Tuesday. At the news conference, Pinkett
was joined by former "Apprentice" contestants Tara Dowdell and Kwame
Jackson; another former contestant, Marshawn Evans Daniels,
participated via video link.
"FAILING WANNABES"
Their efforts seemed unlikely to dent Trump's comfortable advantage
in New York opinion polls against Republican rivals Ohio Governor
John Kasich and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.
 Trump dismissed his former aspiring protégés on Friday as "failing
wannabes out of hundreds of contestants."
"How quickly they forget. Nobody would know who they are if it
weren't for me," he said in a statement. "They just want to get back
into the limelight like they had when they were with Trump. Total
dishonesty and disloyalty."
Trump pulled ahead of Cruz and Kasich this week in the national
Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. Among Republicans, 45 percent support
Trump, compared with 29 percent for Cruz and 21 percent for Kasich.
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On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are tied
at 47 percent. The poll had a credibility interval of 4.6 percentage
points.
NEW YORK POST ENDORSEMENT
In an apparent bid to establish a more presidential footing, Trump
turned from his usual platform of Twitter to the opinion pages of
The Wall Street Journal to denounce the Republican National
Committee over a nomination process he said was rigged.
Friday's piece, along with an endorsement by tabloid newspaper the
New York Post, signaled a possible detente with media magnate Rupert
Murdoch, whose News Corp <NWSA.O> owns both newspapers. A News Corp
spokesman declined to comment on the relationship between the two
billionaires.
Murdoch took to Twitter last year to denounce Trump's comments that
many illegal immigrants from Mexico were bringing crime to the
United States, tweeting: "Trump wrong." The Journal in July called
Trump a "catastrophe" in a withering editorial.
Trump on Wednesday met privately with Fox News Channel anchor Megyn
Kelly after a feud that had lasted months. Another
Murdoch-controlled company, 21st Century Fox <FOXA.O>, owns the
channel.
NBC, the network that aired "The Apprentice," cut ties with Trump
last year after he described some Mexican immigrants as criminals
and rapists. Trump’s other well-known NBC venture, the Miss USA
pageant and Miss Universe pageants, was also dropped from the
line-up around that time.
Other "Apprentice" contestants have backed Trump, including actors
Stephen Baldwin, Gary Busey and Lou Ferrigno, former basketball star
Dennis Rodman and reality television star Jesse James.
Pinkett, however, in remarks directed at Trump, said: "I am calling,
we are calling, for you to do better."
(Additional reporting by Chris Kahn in New York, Bill Trott in
Washington; Writing by Alana Wise and Doina Chiacu; Editing by
Howard Goller and Leslie Adler)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
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