President-elect Donald J. Trump has tapped Mark Burnett, the producer who helped turn him into a household name with “The Apprentice,” as special envoy to Britain.
“With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark brings a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international recognition to this important role,” Mr. Trump wrote in a social media post, noting that Mr. Burnett had won 13 Emmy Awards.
Mr. Burnett, 64, is perhaps best known for reshaping American television with the reality TV hit “Survivor” in 2000. He also helped produce shows like “Shark Tank,” “The Voice” and “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”
But it is “The Apprentice” that will forever bind Mr. Burnett and Mr. Trump. The show, which debuted in 2004 on NBC and ran through 2017, was credited with rehabilitating Mr. Trump’s image after it was tarnished by financial difficulties. As The New Yorker put it, the reality show “mythologized him anew, and on a much bigger scale, turning him into an icon of American success.”
The show presented Mr. Trump as the ultimate successful, self-made billionaire. On it, contestants competed to prove their business skills through a series of challenges. One would be eliminated at the end of each episode with Mr. Trump’s catchphrase, “You’re fired!” He wielded it on the campaign trail, too. “Kamala, you’re fired!” Mr. Trump said frequently at his rallies this year.
The show eventually spawned a spinoff, “The Celebrity Apprentice.” Mr. Trump initially hosted that program, too, but he ended up being fired himself. In 2015, NBC severed ties with him after he referred to Mexican immigrants as rapists and murderers in a speech announcing his bid for the White House.
Mr. Burnett played a pivotal role in one of Mr. Trump’s first major scandals, when several women came forward in 2016 to say they had been groped or assaulted by Mr. Trump, and a video surfaced of Mr. Trump boasting that he could sexually assault women and get away with it. Mr. Burnett resisted intense pressure to release footage from the “Apprentice” set that some former crew members said could reveal Mr. Trump acting in vulgar ways.
But days after Mr. Burnett said in a statement in October 2016 that he did “not have the ability nor the right to release footage or other material from ‘The Apprentice,’” he also distanced himself from Mr. Trump.
“I am not now and have never been a supporter of Donald Trump’s candidacy. I am NOT ‘Pro-Trump,’” Mr. Burnett said in a second statement.
“Further, my wife and I reject the hatred, division and misogyny that has been a very unfortunate part of his campaign,” he added.
But, by year’s end, he was involved in planning the festivities for Mr. Trump’s inaugural week.
It is unclear what Mr. Burnett’s duties as special envoy will be. Mr. Trump has already named Warren Stephens, an investment banker and billionaire, as his choice for ambassador to Britain.
Mr. Trump said that Mr. Burnett, who was born in London, would “work to enhance diplomatic relations, focusing on areas of mutual interest, including trade, investment opportunities and cultural exchanges.”
Also unknown is whether Mr. Burnett’s prospective role will require Senate confirmation. Since 2023, special envoys have required Senate confirmation if they meet a specific standard set out in U.S. law, but Mr. Trump and a Republican-controlled Senate could decide that Mr. Burnett’s position does not meet that standard.
Mr. Burnett served as president of United Artists Media Group from 2014 to 2018 and as chairman of MGM Worldwide Television Group from 2018 to 2022. The only child of Ford factory workers, Mr. Burnett was raised in Dagenham, Essex. He served in the British Army and in 1982 immigrated to the United States.
Mr. Trump has announced several ambassadorial and special envoy positions over the past week, including one for his former ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, whom he chose as envoy for “special missions.”
On Saturday, Mr. Trump also named Tilman J. Fertitta, the billionaire owner of the Houston Rockets, to be his ambassador to Italy. Mr. Fertitta is the owner of the restaurant group Landry’s, and he became the star of the CNBC show “Billion Dollar Buyer.”
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