Former NBC Chief Advertising Officer John D. Miller apologized for creating “a monster” in former U.S. President Donald Trump on “The Apprentice,” after which urged folks to vote for Kamala Harris within the 2024 election.
In a column for U.S. Information & World Report, the previous NBC government did admit to “aggressively” advertising “The Apprentice” and exaggerating Trump’s wealth and enterprise acumen. He additionally apologized for spreading what he now sees as “pretend information” concerning the previous president, and urged his readers to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris within the upcoming 2024 election.
Weeks earlier than the 2024 U.S. presidential election, a meme (archived) circulated on-line attributing a quote to former NBC government John D. Miller, wherein he allegedly apologized for “making a monster” in Donald Trump by advertising the previous U.S. president as “a super-successful businessman” on the hit present “The Apprentice.”
The ex-chief advertising officer (CMO) allegedly stated the community’s present “created the false narrative” Trump was an astute businessman, when in actuality the Republican nominee “declared chapter 4 instances earlier than the present, and twice extra throughout it.”
“We did irreparable hurt by creating the false picture of Trump as a profitable chief and catapulting him to the White Home,” the meme’s textual content continued, earlier than saying Miller urged folks to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in November. The meme learn in full:
“THE APPRENTICE” MARKETER APOLOGIZES TO AMERICA FOR CREATING THE MYTH OF TRUMP AS “SUCCESSFUL”:
“I need to apologize to America. I helped create a monster. At ‘The Apprentice,’ we created the FALSE narrative that Trump was a super-successful businessman. In truth, Trump declared chapter 4 instances earlier than the present, and twice extra throughout it. We did irreparable hurt by creating the false picture of Trump as a profitable chief and catapulting him to the White Home. Now America is going through a essential selection. Ought to this aged, would-be emperor with no garments, who’s well-known for stretching and abandoning the reality, be president once more? The concept that Trump will good for the nation is an phantasm, very like ‘The Apprentice’ was. Even if you’re a Republican, as I used to be, I strongly urge you to vote for Kamala Harris. The nation can be higher off and so will you.”
JOHN D. MILLER, Former chief advertising officer for NBC
One Facebook post the place the meme was included had amassed greater than 33,000 reactions and 22,000 shares as of this writing. It additionally appeared on X, and Snopes readers emailed to ask whether or not the quote was genuine.
In brief, the textual content within the meme got here from an actual article written by Miller, nevertheless it was not reproduced verbatim within the social media posts. Nonetheless, the content material and plenty of sentences precisely mirrored what he wrote, which is why he have rated this quote and declare as an accurate attribution.
What Did Miller’s U.S. Information Column Say?
The original text appeared on information outlet U.S. Information & World Report’s web site on Oct. 16, 2024. Miller’s byline was on the prime of the article (archived).
The previous CMO retired from NBC in Could 2022 after 43 years on the community, throughout which the Trump-hosted actuality present “The Apprentice” was on the air. The present ran from 2004 to 2017, although Trump solely hosted it till 2015, when he was fired for making divisive feedback about immigrants as he launched his 2016 presidential marketing campaign.
In his column, Miller did clarify how, of their efforts to advertise the present, he and his workforce created a picture of Trump that made him seem wealthier and extra competent than he was in actuality.
The first line, which additionally appeared within the meme, learn: “I need to apologize to America. I helped create a monster.”
(U.S. Information & World Report)
The third paragraph learn equally to a different sentence within the meme: “To promote the present, we created the narrative that Trump was a super-successful businessman who lived like royalty. That was the vanity of the present. On the very least, it was a considerable exaggeration; at worst, it created a false narrative by making him appear extra profitable than he was.”
Miller’s column additionally said the previous president “declared enterprise chapter 4 instances earlier than the present went into manufacturing, and at the very least twice extra throughout his 14 seasons internet hosting,” as was said within the meme.
Different particulars from the meme have been additionally coated within the article, akin to Miller saying his workforce “did irreparable hurt by creating the false picture of Trump as a profitable chief,” and by doing so helped “catapult him to the White Home.”
The final couple of paragraphs read similarly to the ultimate sentences of the meme:
Now America is going through a essential selection. Ought to this aged, would-be emperor with no garments, who’s well-known for stretching and abandoning the reality, be president once more?
I spent 50 years efficiently selling tv magic, making mountains out of molehills on daily basis. However I say now to my fellow Individuals, with none promotional exaggeration: Should you imagine that Trump can be higher for you or higher for the nation, that’s an phantasm, very like “The Apprentice” was. Even if you’re a born-and-bred Republican, as I used to be, I strongly urge you to vote for Kamala Harris. The nation can be higher off and so will you.
Elsewhere, Miller accused Trump of “[loving] the eye” he bought from the present and that “it painted a constructive image of him that wasn’t true.”
The previous NBC government additionally said his workforce “promoted the present relentlessly” and that the “exaggerated” picture of Trump they created was “in its personal means … ‘pretend information’ that we unfold over America like a heavy snowstorm.”
Snopes has produced quite a few articles about Trump within the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election. One instance associated to an unfounded declare the previous president donated $25 million to hurricane aid after Helene and Milton. One other referenced a video displaying the previous “Apprentice” host asking a crowd in the event that they most popular a black or white president.
