Arnold Schwarzenegger has issued a statement saying he is leaving NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice, suggesting Donald Trump is the reason. 
 
 “I loved every second of working with NBC and Mark Burnett. Everyone – from the celebrities to the crew to the marketing department – was a straight 10, and I would absolutely work with all of them again on a show that doesn’t have this baggage,” Schwarzenegger said. 
 
 NBC 
 
 NBC declined comment. The network has not said whether it will order more seasons of the reality competition series from Burnett, on which Trump starred until deciding to make his run for the White House. 
 
 During an interview published today with the former California governor about his role in upcoming drama Aftermath, Empire turned the talk to the Schwarzenegger’s NBC reality show which has been sloughing viewers this season. 
 
 “I learned a lot, I had a great time, it was a really great opportunity. But under the circumstances I don’t want to do it again,” the former bodybuilder responded. 
 
 “NBC did everything they could to promote the show and [producer] Mark Burnett did a fantastic job. No one really knew that this was going to happen and I think that everyone was caught off guard…When people found out that Trump was still involved as executive producer and was still receiving money from the show, then half the people [started] boycotting it.” 
 
 “Even if asked [to return] I would decline.” Schwarzenegger said. “With Trump being involved in the show people have a bad taste and don’t want to participate as a spectator or as a sponsor or in any other way support the show. It’s a very divisive period now and I think this show got caught up in all that division.” 
 
 Trump has missed few opportunities to whack Schwarzenegger’s performance on the show, on which Trump continues to be paid as a producer. 
 
 In January, then POTUS-elect Trump, took time out from forming his cabinet, dismantling Obamacare, and pounding out a plan to finance the wall he insists Mexico is going to pay for, to savage Schwarzenegger’s performance as executioner-in-chief: 
 
 “Wow the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got ‘swamped’ (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT. ” 
 
 The New Celebrity Apprentice host took the high road, responding via Twitter: 
 
 “There’s nothing more important than the people’s work” and “I wish you the best of luck and I hope you’ll work for ALL of the American people as aggressively as you worked for your ratings.” Schwarzenegger also tweeted that day: ||||| FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2016 file photo, Arnold Schwarzenegger is seen in Los Angeles. President Donald Trump is seeking prayers for Schwarzenegger over ratings for “Celebrity Apprentice,” the show Trump... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2016 file photo, Arnold Schwarzenegger is seen in Los Angeles. President Donald Trump is seeking prayers for Schwarzenegger over ratings for “Celebrity Apprentice,” the show Trump... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is seeking prayers for Arnold Schwarzenegger over ratings for "Celebrity Apprentice" — the show Trump once hosted. 
 
 Addressing the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Thursday, Trump said ratings went "right down the tubes," and the show has been a "total disaster" since the actor and former California governor debuted as host last month. 
 
 Trump told the audience, "I want to just pray for Arnold if we can." 
 
 Schwarzenegger responded in a brief video on his Twitter account, captioned "The National Prayer Breakfast?" He suggests he and Trump switch jobs since Trump is "such an expert in ratings." 
 
 That way, Schwarzenegger says, "people can finally sleep comfortably again." 
 
 According to the Nielsen company, ratings for Schwarzenegger's debut were down significantly compared to Trump's debut in January 2004. ||||| The much-hyped revamp of The New Celebrity Apprentice seems to have fired some of its viewers. 
 
 With Arnold Schwarzenegger taking over for President-elect Donald Trump in the boardroom, NBC’s two-hour premiere delivered 4.9 million viewers and a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49 on Monday night. That’s down a steep 44 percent in the ratings compared to the reality show’s previous opener back in 2015 (which was on a Sunday night vs. this season’s Monday debut). NBC points out, the show faced heavy competition for male viewers from ESPN’s Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl coverage. 
 
 Alternately, ratings could have fallen because of Trump — some Trump critics have sworn off watching the show given the president-elect’s ongoing attachment to the series (certainly the reactions to this story in my Twitter feed suggest this is the case). Online boycott proclamations over various issues don’t often seem to impact viewership numbers, however, and the idea of half a show’s rating vanishing because of a producing credit seems far-fetched to me. People watch a show because of what’s on the show. And Trump — regardless of how you feel about him — tends to boost the ratings of everything he’s on. 
 
 So: Was the two-year hiatus to blame for the decline? The sports competition on ESPN? The schedule change from Sunday to Monday? Trump’s producing credit? This cycle’s cast of competitors? Or Schwarzenegger taking over from Trump? To me, the most visible and impactful change is the host gig switching. But it could be one of the others or, most likely of all, some combination of all of the above. Ultimately it’s very tough to pinpoint an exact reason why millions choose to watch a show or not. 
 
 Regardless of the cause, The New Celebrity Apprentice was crushed by ABC’s The Bachelor premiere (6.6 million viewers, 2.1 rating), which was basically held steady with last year’s debut. 
 
 Trump retains a producing credit on the new Apprentice — as is contractually standard for founding executive producers, even if they leave the series — yet he isn’t creatively involved in the show. NBC parted ways with Trump shortly after he announced his presidential campaign two years ago. 
 
 NBC introduced some changes to the format, such as moving the show from New York to Los Angeles and replacing Trump’s limo with Arnold’s “choppa.” 
 
 Schwarzenegger unveiled his new contestant-dismissing catchphrase, which is basically “you’re terminated” followed by a line from one of his other iconic films. Our writer Dalton Ross called Schwarzenegger “a little stiff at first… what I didn’t like was the way he kept letting people off the hook when he would ask them pointed questions about who messed up or who should be fired… He was better in the second hour, however, which finally culminated with him basically doing an impersonation of Hanz and Franz impersonating a ‘girly man’ impersonating Snooki crumbling about stepping outside of her comfort zone. I rewatched that on a loop about 50 times and I still honestly couldn’t tell you what the hell he was saying or doing here. But I still loved it. More of that, please. Nonsensical rambling is a hallmark of every great Celebrity Apprentice.” For full details, see Ross’ recap of the premiere here. ||||| FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2016 file photo, Arnold Schwarzenegger arrives at the 2016 Governors Awards in Los Angeles. Schwarzenegger, star of the new version of "The New Celebrity Apprentice," is unfazed... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2016 file photo, Arnold Schwarzenegger arrives at the 2016 Governors Awards in Los Angeles. Schwarzenegger, star of the new version of "The New Celebrity Apprentice," is unfazed that President-elect Donald Trump has retained a producer's stake in the show. Schwarzenegger said... (Associated Press) 
 
 UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (AP) — Arnold Schwarzenegger, star of the new version of "Celebrity Apprentice," is unfazed that President-elect Donald Trump has retained a producer's stake in the show. 
 
 Schwarzenegger said Friday that it's just business, comparable to his situation when he became California's governor and retained a screen credit and kept earning royalties for the "Terminator" movie. 
 
 "So, I think this is a contract that he had and I think it's great that he was part of it," Schwarzenegger said during a red-carpet event for NBC's "The New Celebrity Apprentice," which debuts Jan. 2. 
 
 Replacing Trump as boss in the reality show's boardroom meant "big shoes to fill," he added. 
 
 Cast members including Boy George, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Eric Dickerson compete to raise money for charity, advised by Warren Buffett, Steve Ballmer and other financial heavyweights. 
 
 On Thursday, a spokeswoman for "Apprentice" creator Mark Burnett confirmed that Trump remains an executive producer on the latest edition of the long-running "Apprentice" franchise. The eight episodes ordered by NBC from MGM, where Burnett is president of its TV and digital group, were taped last February. 
 
 Trump tweeted with a defensive tone Saturday, saying he has "NOTHING to do with The Apprentice except for fact that I conceived it with Mark B & have a big stake in it. Will devote ZERO TIME!" Flubbing his spelling, he also criticized CNN's coverage of the story, calling it "rediculous & untrue - FAKE NEWS!" 
 
 Trump's continued profit from a TV series is yet another unprecedented aspect of the election of a businessman and reality star to the presidency, with questions raised about how his holdings may intersect with his presidential decisions. The extent of his involvement with "Apprentice" is unclear, including how much he earns from it. The show last aired in 2015, and with Trump starring. 
 
 Trump spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway said Friday on CNN that his ties to the reality show are being reviewed by experts looking into the president-elect's business ties. She compared Trump's continued interest in the entertainment industry to President Barack Obama's off-hours golfing. 
 
 "Presidents have a right to do things in their spare time, in their leisure time, and nobody objects to that," she said. 
 
 Tyra Banks, an adviser on the series, said Friday she had just learned of Trump's producer status "so I'm still processing." 
 
 TV personality Carrie Keagan, one of the contestants, said the show belongs to a different boss now. 
 
 "It's a brand-new show," she said. "It's an Arnold Schwarzenegger show now. It's his brand. There was no talk of anything else when we started the show. And hopefully there will be no more talk of anything else after." 
 
 ___ 
 
 Television Writer Lynn Elber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
– Arnold Schwarzenegger seems to think Donald Trump needs a lesson in making friends after the president-elect chose to criticize his Celebrity Apprentice successor. "Wow, the ratings are in and [new host] Arnold Schwarzenegger got 'swamped' (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT," Trump tweeted Friday after the Trump-less show premiered Monday to 4.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen. The last season hosted by Trump averaged 7.6 million viewers, per Fortune. "So much for … being a movie star," Trump continued. "But who cares, he supported [John] Kasich & Hillary [Clinton]." Schwarzenegger offered up a reply on Twitter, tweeting, "I wish you the best of luck and I hope you'll work for ALL of the American people as aggressively as you worked for your ratings." He next shared a video he made after the election in which he quotes Abraham Lincoln's inaugural speech, beginning, "We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies." "Please study this quote ... @realDonaldTrump," he tweeted with the video. "It inspired me every day I was Governor, and I hope it inspires you." (The New York Times is unimpressed with the new season.)