WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Mark Burnett, the power producer who helped reintroduce Donald Trump to a national television audience with “The Apprentice,” is being tapped by the president-elect to be special envoy to the United Kingdom.
“With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark brings a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international recognition to this important role,” Trump announced Saturday.
Burnett, who was born in London, helped produce hits like “Survivor” and “The Voice,” but is perhaps best known for teaming up with Trump for “The Apprentice,” which first aired on NBC in 2004.
Trump had been known in real estate and pop culture circles for decades. But the show helped again make him a household name. Trump severed ties with NBC in 2015, the same year he launched his first White House run.
The selection of Burnett continues Trump’s trend of filling out his incoming administration with people who have high-profile backgrounds in television or politics, or both — including his choice to be Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, a former co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend,” and ex-television doctor and unsuccessful Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, Mehmet Oz.
Trump’s first campaign in 2016 was rocked by allegations about his conduct on “The Apprentice” and other appearances during his association with NBC, notably in footage in which he said he could sexually assault women and get away with it because he was a “star.”
Almost a decade after he left his reality TV role, Trump’s television career remains central to his biography and political rise. The show presented Trump Tower to tens of millions of people as a symbol of power and success before Trump launched his first campaign from the building’s lobby.
“Mark is known for creating and producing some of the biggest shows in Television History,” Trump wrote in his statement on Burnett, listing many of his biggest hits before adding, “most notably, ‘The Apprentice’” and noting that Burnett “has won 13 Emmy Awards!”
Special envoys are usually picked by presidents for the world’s traditional hotspots, including the Middle East — where Trump has already said he’d like longtime friend and real estate investor Steven Witkoff to fill the role. The United Kingdom, which has long enjoyed a “special relationship” with the U.S. that makes it one of Washington’s strongest global allies, is not typically a candidate for such posts.
But Trump has announced a series of special envoy positions for several top loyalists ahead of Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, including his former ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell whom he chose as an envoy for special missions.
Trump also announced Dec. 2 that he was picking billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens for the more standard role of U.S. ambassador to Britain. That might raise questions about how a special U.K. envoy could overlap duties, but the president-elect said in his statement that Burnett “will work to enhance diplomatic relations, focusing on areas of mutual interest, including trade, investment opportunities, and cultural exchanges.”
Weissert writes for the Associated Press.