Are Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump Joining Forces On "The Apprentice?"

**Steve Peterson** · 07-18-2007 07:53 AM

Stop the presses! Are sworn enemies Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump burying the hatchet and joining forces?

Their public feud which actually began when O'Donnell was a panelist on "The View," was a hot topic of conversation for the media for months. O'Donnell was rumored to have been fired from the show back in May, although she claims she quit.

Trump was hardly heartbroken when O'Donnell exited the show. In fact, he seemed to revel in her demise, stating, "The reason she quit was that she couldn’t take the heat."

Trump even took full credit for what happened to O'Donnell.

"I was the one that started Rosie's downfall, and I'm very proud of that because I exposed Rosie for what she is. She's a very self-destructive person, not a very bright person, and ultimately she's a loser.”

But Trump has his own problems. His show, "The Apprentice" had been canceled by NBC due to low ratings, when it announced its next season schedule in May. But the network went out and hired Ben Silverman as its new entertainment chief shortly thereafter, and he called on Trump and executive producer Mark Burnett to revive the show.

In an attempt to improve the show's ratings, NBC is inviting celebrities to try to wow Donald Trump in the next version of "The Apprentice."

"It would be great to have Rosie on `The Apprentice,'" Silverman said at a morning Television Critics Association news conference. "Donald personally told me to extend an invitation to her."

However, extending an olive branch to O'Donnell may be an act of desperation for both NBC and Trump, since "The View" actually gained viewers, when O'Donnell was on the show.

So with Trump willing to let bygones be bygones, is O'Donnell set to join her nemesis on "The Apprentice?"

While it would make for great television drama, don't hold your breath.

"It will never happen in this lifetime or beyond," said Cindi Berger, O'Donnell's spokeswoman. She did confirm, however, that O'Donnell was in talks with NBC about other projects.