Interview: Rod Blagojevich

Dismissed Illinois ex-guv Rod Blagojevich is counting on a better outcome on Celebrity Apprentice than in his former elected position, and the first sign of that is he has no gripes about his conversations being taped. During this conversation it was hard to tell if he was competing as a Celebrity Apprentice or American Idol while expressing his not exactly mutual affection towards Donald Trump. Rod also fielded questions about Trump’s less-than-pleased reaction to his performance on the show, as he served up boxing metaphors with sidebar references to Nixon, Churchill, Kafka, the Kardashians and girly men governors.

Q: How did you end up on Celebrity Apprentice in the first place?

ROD BLAGOJEVICH: I’m still trying to figure that out! You know, I don’t know. Everything dramatically changed when I was hijacked from office, and falsely accused of things I didn’t do. And I’m living in this sort of Kafka-esque wilderness right now. And I’ve been fortunate and blessed, and so has my wife, in that we’ve been given opportunities most people who have lost their jobs have not been given. And that is a chance to be on successful TV shows like Celebrity Apprentice. And I don’t know where the idea came from, but when it was offered to me, I was quick to say yes. And a lot of it had to do with the fact that I’m a big fan of Donald Trump’s and a big admirer of his.

Q: How come?

RB: You know, from his success in the business world. And the fact that he’s been a maverick, a guy who’s willing to stand up and buck the trends, and challenge the status quo. I saw myself as that kind of a governor. And he’s a guy who also knew what it was like to be on top, and then come tumbling down. Which was the case with him in the early ’90s, when he was $900 million in debt. But did not quit, not go run away, but fight back as he did and take adversity. And turn it into, you know, a catalyst for even bigger success. In his case!

Donald Trump is a guy who’s got a big heart. It’s underneath that tough exterior and the brashness, and the self-made man with, you know, with so much money that he could tell the world to go F themselves. You know what I’m saying?

Q: Trump said that he thought you weren’t being competitive enough. Do you agree?

RB: I don’t, no. But you know, you’ve got to deal with the cards you’re dealt with. Well your team seems willing to stick up for the individual members, and take a bullet for them. So what do you think your actions and even Darryl Strawberry’s actions say, that you guys are willing to bite the bullet for someone else?

I don’t think it says so much about the team as it says about Darryl Strawberry and me. I mean, it’s like a manager of a baseball team. You know, if you don’t have a winning season, sooner or later they’re going to move the manager out and get someone else in who can win.

But if people stay tuned, I think the show is going to just get—without divulging anything —I think the show is just going to get a lot more competitive as it unfolds. And I think you’ll probably see less of what you just talked about. And probably more of the good old fashion backstabbing, and cutthroat stuff. And the beginning of the night of the long knives.

Q: Do you feel people see you differently now as part of the show, than they did when you were a governor?

RB: I don’t know. I will say that, for better or for worse, I’m a heck of a lot better known. But I wouldn’t exactly say that, you know, I would choose these circumstances to get known this way! You know?