Trump blasts CNN for ‘fake news’ over Celebrity Apprentice executive producer report

In his latest Twitter tirade, US president-elect Donald Trump rebuked CNN for reporting that he will continue to work as an executive producer for Celebrity Apprentice when he becomes president, a day after one of his top advisers defended him for keeping the role.

Trump received extensive criticism when the story emerged that he would be continuing to work on the reality TV show when he moves into the White House. On Saturday, however, he took to Twitter to vociferously deny the reports.

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“I have NOTHING to do with The Apprentice except for fact that I conceived it with Mark B [Burnett] & have a big stake in it. Will devote ZERO TIME!” he said, “Reports by @CNN that I will be working on The Apprentice during my Presidency, even part time, are rediculous [sic] & untrue – FAKE NEWS!”

Trump starred in the show for seven seasons before bowing out in February 2015, ahead of launching his presidential bid. His claim that he will devote zero time to the program differs entirely from what his chief campaign adviser Kellyanne Conway said on Friday.

Speaking to CNN, Conway compared Trump working to Obama golfing. “Were we so concerned about the hours and hours and hours spent on the golf course of the current president? I mean presidents have a right to do things in their spare time,” she said.

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“Whether it's President Obama or President Donald Trump, the idea that these men are going to be all work and nothing else all the time is just unrealistic because it's never happened in our lifetimes,” Conway explained, adding that work is Trump’s hobby.

Late last month, the president-elect said on Twitter that he would leave his business “in total” so he could fully focus on running the country. “I will be holding a major news conference in New York City with my children on December 15 to discuss the fact that I will be leaving my great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

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Questions still remain, however, over whether he will keep royalties from The Apprentice and if he will still be listed in the credits.

This is far from the first time Trump has turned his ire on main stream media outlets such as CNN. Throughout his presidential campaign, he was continuously critical of companies such as CNN, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. As recently as last week, he cited lack of accuracy and honor in the press as the reason why he tweets so much.