The Apprentice: Los Angeles, Episode 3 - Take This Job and Shove It

Aaron says his team did great, and he’s confident. Stefani and James say he was great. James says Aaron really listened well. Ivanka reports that Aaron’s comments included good interaction, fun, entertaining, and insightful. They had an 82% approval rating. Don says Michelle’s tour was called repetitive and lacked information. Their approval rating was 58%. Ooh, that’s bad! Michelle says that they had heart. Trump tells Aaron’s team that their reward is a mental victory. They don’t get to go back to the house, but they will get to… feel good about themselves. Aaron will help Trump decide who should be fired.

Michelle says that this is not what she’s signed up for. She doesn’t like living in the backyard, and she’d love to take the conventional route to work for Trump, but at this point, she doesn’t see the point of going back to the Boardroom. She’d like to “resign from the process.” Trump asks if that makes her a quitter. She says it doesn’t. Don says he can’t imagine someone working for them who wouldn’t be willing to do everything. Ivanka asks if she would have quit if her team had won. Michelle says she might have. Trump adds that she would have been at risk for firing anyway. Michelle tries her best to be gracious. She says she’s learned a lot from this opportunity.

I doubt Trump can let that happen. God forbid anyone should be professional and calm when there’s a chance for conflict. Trump says this is “a major opportunity.” Only one person has quit in the past, and he’s been amazed at that, since the process is so tough. He doesn’t think Michelle will be proud of her decision in the future. He says that when he gives speeches on success, one of the things he says is to never give up. If she wants to leave, that’s her choice. Michelle says she didn’t think it would be like this. Trump says if he were in her shoes, he’d rather be fired than quit. He hates that she’ll have to live with her decision to quit. Michelle says she appreciates his “candor.”

Michelle says she could have done more in the task, but her spirit is not what it was before. Don wonders what she’s really learned. Michelle tells him that this process doesn’t work for her naturally, and she wants to opt out of it. Trump says that real business is much tougher. What will happen when she meets an obstacle and decides to quit? She says she’s never done it before and may never do it again. Trump accepts her resignation and grudgingly wishes her luck. He tells the other candidates on her team that he’ll see them later.

Don says that she should have come to the Boardroom to take her medicine. Trump says it doesn’t feel right.

Stefani can’t believe what happened and says Michelle is out of her mind. Michelle tells her to just stand behind her. The guys wonder if Trump might fire one of them. Tim thinks that Michelle screwed them over, since now one of them might get fired. Kinetic listens over the hedge and can’t believe what happened. Michelle says she knew Trump would respond the way he did, and she doesn’t care. Michelle calmly packs her bags and leaves.

The phone rings, and Andi informs Frank that Trump has cancelled the boardroom. Frank jumps up and down like a loon. Michelle waves goodbye behind her back while the rest of them have a great big group hug.

I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but I have this to say about Michelle: Good for her! A job interview works both ways. Not only is the candidate trying to convince the employer, but the employer should be trying to convince the candidate. Michelle saw that in order to work for Donald Trump, she’d have to endure sleeping in a tent, taking cold showers, and a whole “team” full of people who hated her and wanted her fired. She decided screw that, no job is worth it. At no point did she put down the other candidates for still wanting to go through it, but she decided it was not for her, so she walked away, on her own terms.

The idea of someone quitting freaked Trump out. Not just because winners never quit and whatever else he’s spouting in his speeches, but because his ego is so gigantic at this point that he just cannot comprehend someone not wanting to work for him. If these candidates, who are smart and capable people with outstanding resumes start refusing to play his game, then what does he have left?

Trump’s maxim that you should never, under any circumstances, quit, is ridiculous in this case. Should you never quit, even if you realize that you don’t want the ultimate prize? To me, it’s much smarter to keep your eyes and mind open and to evaluate just what you’re fighting for. Sometimes, it’s better to just walk away.

Next week, Trump gets furious because of a big mistake that someone made. Plus, Apprentice romance.

Betsy Wasser is the Associate Editor of Reality News Online. She can be reached with any comments at betsywasser@gmail.com.

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