You're hired: Trump names 'The Apprentice' producer Mark Burnett special envoy to the UK
President-elect Donald Trump to Mark Burnett: You're hired.
Trump on Saturday named Burnett, who produced "The Apprentice," as the special envoy to the United Kingdom. A winner of multiple Emmy Awards, Burnett also produced "The Voice," "Shark Tank," and has been the executive producer on "Survivor" and "Are You Smarter than a Celebrity?"
Burnett "will work to enhance diplomatic relations, focusing on areas of mutual interest, including trade, investment opportunities, and cultural exchanges," Trump said in a Truth Social post Saturday.
"It is my great honor to appoint Mark Burnett as the Special Envoy to the United Kingdom," Trump wrote. "With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark brings a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international recognition to this important role."
Burnett is also just the latest person with a background in television to be named to Trump's administration. He has also nominated former Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary and TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz as the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
His exact role as envoy was unclear. Trump earlier named businessman Warren Stephens as his ambassador to the UK.
Burnett, 64, who was born in London, helped boost Trump to the presidency, many say.
Viewers got to know Trump through the hit NBC reality series which Trump hosted for 14 seasons, the president-elect told journalist Ramin Setoodeh, author of the 2024 book “Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass," in an excerpt published in The Washington Post.
"They didn’t really know me," Trump said. "Mark Burnett and Jeff Zucker, those two main characters, they either get praised or blamed for me becoming president. Mark Burnett says without ‘The Apprentice,’ I wouldn’t have been president."
Burnett, who was previously the chairman of MGM Worldwide Television Group, hasn't spoken much about his relationship with Trump and avoided the subject in an in-depth profile in The New Yorker in 2019.
During the 2016 campaign, Burnett said he would not release "Apprentice" outtakes after what he called "continued false reporting" about the existence of embarrassing recordings in the vein of the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape, in which Trump bragged of grabbing women by their genitals.
“Given all of the false media reports, I feel compelled to clarify a few points," Burnett told USA TODAY at the time.
"I am not now and have never been a supporter of Donald Trump’s candidacy," Burnett said then. "I am NOT 'Pro-Trump.' Further, my wife (actress Roma Downey) and I reject the hatred, division and misogyny that has been a very unfortunate part of his campaign.”
Britain’s government on Friday named Peter Mandelson as its new ambassador to the U.S. with a mission of wooing Trump, avoiding a trade war and keeping the two countries aligned over Ukraine.
“I am truly honored to serve The United States of America and President Trump as his Special Envoy to the United Kingdom,” Burnett said via a spokesperson to Variety.
Trump recently named Lt. Gen Keith Kellogg to be his Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, and Richard Grenell, who previously served as ambassador to Germany for Trump, to be his presidential envoy for special missions.
Contributing: Reuters.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump names 'Apprentice' producer Mark Burnett as UK special envoy