Bill Pruitt, a former producer on The Apprentice, has alleged that Donald Trump referred to a contestant by the N-word during filming of the inaugural season in 2003.
Trump - President of the US from 2017 to 2021 - was star of the business-based reality show for 14 years, stepping down just before he ascended to the White House.
During that campaign it was alleged that a tape existed from his time filming the show that saw him use the N-word, but he denied the claims and the tape failed to surface.
Now Pruitt, who worked on the first two seasons, has come forward to allege that Trump did in fact use the slur during a discussion about whether finalist Kwame Jackson should win the competition.
In a lengthy piece for Slate, Pruitt said that he was now able to speak about the incident as a 20-year nondisclosure agreement has just expired.
Recalling Trump's chat with his advisors, Pruitt alleges that he asked them: "But, I mean, would America buy a n****r winning?"
"I turn my gaze toward Trump," Pruitt wrote. "He continues to wince. He is serious, and he is adamant about not hiring Jackson."
He continued: "What happens next I don't entirely recall. I am still processing what I have just heard. We all are.
"Only [Jay] Bienstock (producer) knows well enough to keep the train moving. None of us thinks to walk out the door and never return. I still wish I had...
"Then we wrap production, pack up, and head home. There is no discussion about what Trump said in the boardroom, about how the damning evidence was caught on tape. Nothing happens...
"So, we scammed. We swindled. Nobody heard the racist and misogynistic comments or saw the alleged cheating, the bluffing, or his hair taking off in the wind. Those tapes, I've come to believe, will never be found."
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump 2024 campaign, responded: "This is a completely fabricated and bullshit story that was already peddled in 2016."
Trump remains the firm odds-on favourite to be re-elected to the White House in November.
Neil Wilkes
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