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WASHINGTON - Donald Trump, the tirelessly self-promoting tycoon who popularised the catchphrase "You're fired" on his television show The Apprentice, may be close to discovering the pain and loneliness of rejection.
NBC television, which broadcasts his reality show following the exploits of a group of young entrepreneurs seeking
the prize of an apprenticeship with Mr Trump himself, this week revealed its programming line-up for 2007-8 which made no mention of the show.
There has been widespread speculation that the show - struggling with its ratings - is about to get chopped.
Asked whether The Apprentice had been sidelined, NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly told reporters: "Not yet."
He left open the option of a last minute reprieve for the show and said NBC would wait until other major networks had released their line-ups before making a final decision.
"Donald still wants to do the show. [Executive producer] Mark [Burnett] wants to do the show. We couldn't find the right spot for it. So we're going to regroup after everybody announces their schedule," said Mr Reilly.
"We're going to look at everything in context and then make a decision about it. We want to stay in business with Donald in whatever format that will take. The guy has a certain magic. We love him."
The show, which featured Mr Trump gleefully dismissing unsuccessful contests with the words "You're fired", was originally a hit, earning more than 20m viewers during its first season in 2004.
But since then it has suffered a slow and steady decline to the point that its recent sixth season, set in Los Angeles, had just 7.5m viewers.
Mr Trump, who recently became a grandfather, has other joint projects with NBC even if his reality business show gets the axe.
This spring the two parties announced a renewed deal to keep the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, of which Mr Trump is a co-owner, on NBC.
Mr Trump, 60, originally a real estate developer, is rarely out of the headlines - a situation he clearly enjoys.
He has recently been involved in an often poisonous spat with the comedian Rosie O'Donnell.
The disagreement was sparked when Ms O'Donnell said Mr Trump was not an appropriate figure to offer moral advice to a Miss USA who had been accused of under-age drinking and drug use.
Mr Trump responded by saying of Ms O'Donnell: "She's not smart, she's crude, she's ignorant."
Mr Trump said he had yet decide whether to pursue making a seventh series of The Apprentice.
He told the New York Daily News: "The Apprentice has been and continues to be a great experience for me.
Who would ever have believed it was going to be one of the most successful shows ever on television? Over the next couple of weeks I'll make a decision whether or not I want to do another season."
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