Mar 21 2008
Talking Heads
After a rather long-winded recap of the season so far, we are back where we left off last week - in a surprise Boardroom with Trump who declared that 'before the night is over,' two more people will be fired. After letting that sink in, Trump announced that the remaining four will have one-on-one interviews with business journalists, Erin Burnett and Jim Cramer (who had made an earlier appearance on the show as a 'guest' deputy filling in for Don, Jr.). Burnett and Cramer would then tell Trump who they liked the least and best and Trump would then make his decision about which two to fire.
In His Element?
Piers Morgan noted that the other celebrities were nervous about the surprise interviews but he wasn't since 'talking is the only thing I'm good at,' and thus, his chances had just increased significantly.
The Tough Questions
Erin Burnett and Jim Cramer really grilled the final four - at least based on the cuts of the various interviews they showed. All of the celebrities were asked about their charities and why they were in this, but then the hard questions like - 'what was your biggest mistake?' or 'which task did you screw up on the most?' - started flying at them. From the clips, it seemed like everyone, except Lennox Lewis, did fairly well.
Assessments
Trump met with Burnett and Cramer who both agreed about who they liked the least - Piers Morgan. Both found him to be too tough, or as Burnett put it, he had too much of 'an edge,' which wasn't necessarily a good thing, especially in an environment like this. Cramer really liked Carol Alt, while Burnett liked Trace Adkins. Both were in agreement that Lennox Lewis just did not live up to their expectations. Cramer's final two would be Trace Adkins and Carol Alt, and we didn't hear who Burnett picked but it's safe to say that it probably wasn't Piers or Lennox.
Women's Man
Trump gave the final four Cramer's and Burnett's judgments. Trump mentioned that Erin Burnett thought Trace was terrific and asked him if women tended to think that he was terrific, Trace replied with a modest smile, and a 'Yes, sir.'
The Final Three
The first person fired was Lennox Lewis, who did himself in by stating that he agreed with Piers's declaration that Piers was the 'driving force' and 'main asset' on Team Hydra and the reason why that team had won so much. Trump expressed surprise at this and Lennox tried to backpedal stating that Piers may have been the driving force, but only because he knew Lennox could be used as a marketing tool. But alas, the damage had been done.
.
Not a Back-Stabber and Proud of it!
Trump revealed that Jim Cramer and Erin Burnett wanted Piers fired for playing the game in such a tough and ruthless manner. Piers wasn't phased by this, insisting that it was what the game called for and that he wasn't being unethical or breaking any rules. When Trump pressed Trace for his opinion on Piers, Trace noted that Piers could be 'merciless' and that he would 'stab you in the forehead' if he could. Piers seemed rather proud of this as well, noting that he wasn't a back-stabber and wasn't the type of person who said one thing to your face only to do other things behind your back. Put it that way and we could almost admire a person like that!
Not the Best Way to Go
Trump announced that firing the second person would be a very difficult decision given that both Jim Cramer and Erin Burnett wanted to have Trace and Carol in the final two, but Piers had the best record of the three of them. In a surprisingly candid confession, Trump admitted that he wanted to see Trace and Piers 'go at it' and that he 'loved the friction between [the two of them].' With that, he fired Carol, who declared that she was happy if that was the reason she was getting axed. Really, Carol? You wouldn't rather be fired for a more substantive reason? You're okay with getting cut because Trump wanted to see a pissing match between two guys? Personally, if we had gotten that far (and put in that much work) only to be fired on such groundless ‘reasoning’ - we'd be pissed.
US v. UK
Trump is almost gleeful at the prospect of a Trace Adkins/Piers Morgan showdown. He crowed that it was the ‘U.S. versus the U.K.’ and it was like 'good versus evil.' Hmmm. Last time we checked, the US and UK were allies. Heck, the UK isn't even in the so-called 'axis of evil' and the USSR is long gone. Trump needs another analogy, and possibly some history/geo-politics lessons.
