Magnus
Diamond Member
- Jun 22, 2020
- 13,296
- 10,466
- 2,138
I want to apologize to America. I helped create a monster.
For nearly 25 years, I led marketing at NBC and NBCUniversal. I led the team that marketed “The Apprentice,” the reality show that made Donald Trump a household name outside of New York City, where he was better known for overextending his empire and appearing in celebrity gossip columns.
To sell the show, we created the narrative that Trump was a super-successful businessman who lived like royalty. That was the conceit of the show. At the very least, it was a substantial exaggeration; at worst, it created a false narrative by making him seem more successful than he was.
In fact, Trump declared business bankruptcy four times before the show went into production, and at least twice more during his 14 seasons hosting. The imposing board room where he famously fired contestants was a set, because his real boardroom was too old and shabby for TV.
...
Exaggerating ratings is one thing, but spreading falsehoods about relief work of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, about immigrants eating cats and dogs, about the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, about him winning the 2020 election or countless other lies is far more dangerous.
Now America is facing a critical choice. Should this elderly, would-be emperor with no clothes, who is well known for stretching and abandoning the truth, be president again?
I spent 50 years successfully promoting television magic, making mountains out of molehills every day. But I say now to my fellow Americans, without any promotional exaggeration: If you believe that Trump will be better for you or better for the country, that is an illusion, much like “The Apprentice” was. Even if you are a born-and-bred Republican, as I was, I strongly urge you to vote for Kamala Harris. The country will be better off and so will you.
~ John D. Miller was the chief marketing officer for NBC and NBCUniversal, and retired as chair of the NBCUniversal Marketing Council.
Isn't it ironic that Trump and his MAGA supporters keep insisting that the liberal media are "out to get him," yet it was NBC that put him on America's map?
I’m originally from New York, where we grew up knowing a lot about Trump. He was often the butt of jokes—a guy who proudly emblazoned his name on buildings but was more famous for his bankruptcies. He even managed to run a casino into the ground! Suddenly, he was being touted as a "successful" businessman! What a bunch of horseshit.
And now, here we are. We elected a man who declared bankruptcy at least four times and then attempted to lead the country, only to fail miserably when a crisis hit. Yet, some people still haven’t learned; they continue to treat a fabricated TV persona as gospel and want to elect him again.
Insanity - doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results!
For nearly 25 years, I led marketing at NBC and NBCUniversal. I led the team that marketed “The Apprentice,” the reality show that made Donald Trump a household name outside of New York City, where he was better known for overextending his empire and appearing in celebrity gossip columns.
To sell the show, we created the narrative that Trump was a super-successful businessman who lived like royalty. That was the conceit of the show. At the very least, it was a substantial exaggeration; at worst, it created a false narrative by making him seem more successful than he was.
In fact, Trump declared business bankruptcy four times before the show went into production, and at least twice more during his 14 seasons hosting. The imposing board room where he famously fired contestants was a set, because his real boardroom was too old and shabby for TV.
...
Exaggerating ratings is one thing, but spreading falsehoods about relief work of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, about immigrants eating cats and dogs, about the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, about him winning the 2020 election or countless other lies is far more dangerous.
Now America is facing a critical choice. Should this elderly, would-be emperor with no clothes, who is well known for stretching and abandoning the truth, be president again?
I spent 50 years successfully promoting television magic, making mountains out of molehills every day. But I say now to my fellow Americans, without any promotional exaggeration: If you believe that Trump will be better for you or better for the country, that is an illusion, much like “The Apprentice” was. Even if you are a born-and-bred Republican, as I was, I strongly urge you to vote for Kamala Harris. The country will be better off and so will you.
~ John D. Miller was the chief marketing officer for NBC and NBCUniversal, and retired as chair of the NBCUniversal Marketing Council.
Isn't it ironic that Trump and his MAGA supporters keep insisting that the liberal media are "out to get him," yet it was NBC that put him on America's map?
I’m originally from New York, where we grew up knowing a lot about Trump. He was often the butt of jokes—a guy who proudly emblazoned his name on buildings but was more famous for his bankruptcies. He even managed to run a casino into the ground! Suddenly, he was being touted as a "successful" businessman! What a bunch of horseshit.
And now, here we are. We elected a man who declared bankruptcy at least four times and then attempted to lead the country, only to fail miserably when a crisis hit. Yet, some people still haven’t learned; they continue to treat a fabricated TV persona as gospel and want to elect him again.
Insanity - doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results!
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