‘Apprentice’ alumni, including season winner, support Trump in election's closing days: 'grateful'
A group of 11 former contestants on "The Apprentice" have issued a public letter backing Donald Trump for president in response to a letter from fellow alumni who released a statement declaring their support for Kamala Harris.
The letter, spearheaded by Kendra Todd, winner of Season 3, said the signers felt compelled to respond to the Harris letter after their fellow contestants claimed "to have spoken to dozens of their fellow contestants to confirm we shared their observations of Trump’s character."
"It is disappointing and shameful that these contestants would use the platform that Donald Trump gave them to attack him in this manner," the letter reads. "Is this the thanks he gets for literally changing the trajectory of our lives?"
Todd, now a real estate broker, told Fox News Digital, "What bothered me the most with how they claimed that they spoke with dozens of us former contestants on the show and they believed that they represent the majority of the cast mates. And I simply just do not believe that to be true."
The letter supporting Harris, obtained by Politico, was signed by four contestants, a producer, and a casting manager.
The signers said they got to see Trump up close and saw a man who "embodied charisma and salesmanship."
HARRIS RESPONDS TO BIDEN 'GARBAGE' REMARK FOR FIRST TIME
"But our extended up-close-and-personal experiences with Donald also revealed his serial history as a divisive, self-interested and erratic leader with a fragile ego," the pro-Harris letter read. "We saw first-hand how he demanded one-way loyalty, the trail of his broken promises, his willingness to lie and take advantage of people, and how virulently he lashed out whenever he was triggered by even the slightest of criticisms."
The letter argued that America needs a leader who is "oriented towards a brighter, solutions-oriented future."
"America needs stable leadership, achieved through actual character rather than world-class TV editing. That’s why we will be voting for Vice President Kamala Harris on November 5th."
While conceding their First Amendment rights, Todd told Fox News Digital she regarded it as a "betrayal of the way they went after his character and just how disingenuous they were for the opportunity that he gave them."
"You have to remember we filmed this … 20 years ago. So, we’ve known him on and off for a very long time. And nothing they say in that letter is consistent with the man that any of us know," Todd said. "So, we just felt that we needed to come out publicly and say that that is not the majority opinion of those who were on the show. We’re grateful for the opportunity. We’re grateful for what he’s done for our country. And we stand in support of Donald Trump."
The Apprentice debuted in 2004. It ran for 15 seasons.