Profile: Who is Donald Trump? (Part 1… The Brand)

Nov 9, 2024

Guest

Marc Fisher

Marc Fisher, a senior editor at the Washington Post and co-author of ‘Trump Revealed,’ along with Bill Pruitt, a former producer of ‘The Apprentice,’ delve into Donald Trump’s rise to fame. They discuss how Trump crafted his brand as a successful businessman, highlighting the show's impact on his public image. Behind-the-scenes insights reveal how Trump transformed from a struggling entrepreneur to a media mogul, shaping a larger-than-life persona despite financial controversies. The episode offers a fascinating look at the intersection of celebrity and business strategy.

Ask episode

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

Intro

00:00 • 5min

The Rise of a Self-Made Man

04:40 • 6min

Building a Brand: The Evolution of a Celebrity Businessman

10:12 • 2min

The Reinvention of Trump Through The Apprentice

11:56 • 8min

The Evolution of a Brand: Trump's Television Strategy

20:01 • 2min

Crafting the Trump Persona

22:23 • 12min

Conclusion and Future Insights on Trump's Presidency

34:38 • 3min

Americast looks back at how Donald Trump succeeded in business by creating a franchise out of his most valuable commodity: himself. Sarah hears from a former Apprentice producer, who gives us a behind the scenes insight into why Trump was picked for the TV series, and how it was integral in building his image as a successful businessman. This episode was first aired during the election campaign, as Americast profiled all the presidential and vice presidential candidates. Look out for Part 2: Trump the politician!

HOST: • Sarah Smith, Radio 4 presenter

GUESTS: • Marc Fisher, senior editor at the Washington Post and co-author of the biography ‘Trump Revealed’ • Bill Pruitt, former Apprentice producer

GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email Americast@bbc.co.uk • Or use #Americast

This episode was made by Rufus Gray, George Dabby, Purvee Pattni, Catherine Fusillo, and Claire Betzer. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s new BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155

If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app.

You can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers.

Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including The Global Story, The Today Podcast, and of course Newscast and Ukrainecast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below.

The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd The Today Podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl Ukrainecast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0bqztzm