The Apprentice: Lord Sugar says Donald Trump claims he 'works for me' - history of their feud & what has Lord Sugar said about Elon Musk?

The 77-year-old businessman is set to return to screens on Thursday night (January 30), with the 19th series of the hit BBC business competition show. The premiere of the 19th series coincides with President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in the US, after having hosted the original reality show from 2004 until 2015 in the States.

When asked if he would ever consider going into business with President Trump, Lord Sugar said: “He will tell you I am in business with him. Because The Apprentice format, which was originally owned by someone called Mark Burnett, he sold it to MGM, and apparently, according to President Trump, he has a little shareholding, a small shareholding in the format. So he always reminds people that Lord Sugar works for me.

“Would I ever go into business with him? I don’t think that opportunity will ever arise, because he’s too busy at the moment being president, he’s just taken over and started to implement some of his promises and plans.”

What have Lord Sugar and Donald Trump said about each other?

Trump previously called Lord Sugar a “small-timer” during an interview with Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain in 2016, saying: “Don’t forget, Sugar works for me.” The pair have gone back and forth over the years, with somewhat of a feud forming between the two.

After Trump claimed in the Good Morning Britain interview that Lord Sugar “works for me”, the business tycoon visited the show himself in which he told hosts Piers and Susanna Reid: “He’s got nothing at all to do with the British Apprentice, nothing whatsoever to do with it.

“As far as working for him is concerned, god forbid. In fact I wish he’d give me a P45.”

When asked by Susanna whether he was asking to be fired by Trump, Lord Sugar responded: “No, he couldn’t do it... he is not in my class. They stuck his programme on at about half past one in the morning on BBC because they have to for some contractual reasons and those people, those saddos like you [Piers] that might watch it all concur that he is not in my class.”

Following jibes from Trump about the Amstad tycoon not being wealthy enough to be at the helm of the show, Lord Sugar added: “I remember saying to him ‘Look Donny, let’s write a cheque out for £100 million pounds and present it at the bank and see which one gets paid’. And his answer to that was ‘If you’ve got £100 million laying around you’re not a good businessman’. Er, no not really, I don’t think he’s got any money.”

Lord Sugar even poked fun at President Trump after he lost the 2020 US election to Joe Biden, referencing his famous catchphrase when saying in a tweet: “.@realDonaldTrump it is with regret You're Fired !”

What has Alan Sugar said about Elon Musk?

Businessman and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk became a prominent supporter and backer of President Trump during his campaign to return to the White House in 2024. Musk, who was recently criticised for appearing to make a Nazi-like salute on stage, was rewarded with an appointment in Trump’s newly created ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ temporary organisation.

Lord Sugar has been scathing in his assessment of the billionaire and his likelihood of success in the role. He said: “When I tried to identify inefficiency all I got was aggro and I couldn’t change anything. Too many people saying, ‘Oh no, you can’t do that.’ But my problems were minute compared to what Musk is up against in America.”

Adding that he is “all talk”, Lord Sugar said: “He is undoubtedly a brilliant man but he shoots his mouth off. He’s going to get a bloody nose. Musk might be glued to Trump now but I reckon Donald will give him the elbow after the inauguration. He’ll want to make clear: ‘I am the president.’”