Apprentice II
Plus: Kid Rock’s taxpayer-funded promo
Oh brother. Amazon is reportedly considering a reboot of President Donald Trump’s former reality show The Apprentice and getting his son Donald Trump, Jr., to host. What if we brought back The Simple Life instead?
Welcome to this week’s issue of Whig. Read to the end for full Met Gala coverage. — Hunter Schwarz
America’s lost faith in Trump:
New polling from Pew Research Center found that between November 2024 to April 2026, the percentage of Americans who believe Trump is mentally sharp has fallen from 55% to 44%. The poll also found just 34% describe him as honest and only 26% believe he’s a good role model. If it seems that everyone is less intimated by Trump, there’s a good reason why.
Ceasefire uncertain:
The Iran war ceasefire isn’t in a good place. Trump said he’ll blow Iran “off the face of the Earth” Monday if it strikes U.S. ships after the UAE said it was attacked by Iran and the U.S. said it sank Iranian boats.
Senate doesn’t bet on it:
Give credit where credit is due: the U.S. Senate voted unanimously Thursday to ban Senators and their staff from trading on prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi.
“Any Senator who comes to Washington, D.C. to cash in, play the markets, or treat public office like a side hustle is a betrayal to the people they swore to serve,” Sens. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), who introduced the ban, said in a statement.
A bill called the Prediction Market Act of 2026 was also introduced Friday by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Dave McCormick (R-Pa.). The bill would extend the ban to U.S. House members and members of the executive branch, including the president and vice president.
Apprentice II:
Amazon got The Apprentice after acquiring MGM in 2022, and executives have discussed the possibility of a reboot with Donald Trump Jr., as host. It would be available on Amazon Prime Video alongside Melania, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Jr.’s dad didn’t offer much of a ringing endorsement when asked about the possibility of handing the franchise off to his son. “He’s a good guy. He’s probably good. He’s got a little charisma going,” Trump said.
NBC last rebooted the show with the short-lived The New Celebrity Apprentice hosted by former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2017, and Martha Stewart hosted the spin-off The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005. Before NBC fired Trump from The Celebrity Apprentice in 2015, he said he wanted his daughter Ivanka Trump to host, according to the book Apprentice in Wonderland.
The King gave Trump a bell with his name on it:
King Charles gifted Trump a golden bell that says “Trump 1944” on it during his visit to the U.S. last week. The bell was once on the British submarine HMS Trump during World War II. Charles also gifted Trump with a framed replica of the design for the Resolute Desk, the presidential Oval Office desk that was built from wood from the HMS Resolute, a British ship.
Also exchanged: Trump gave Charles a letter from then-U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. and future president John Adams to diplomat John Jay, Queen Camilla gave the first lady a broach, and the first lady gave Camilla a teaspoon set and White House honey.
During his address to Congress last Tuesday, Charles said the story of the U.K. and U.S. was “a story of reconciliation, renewal and remarkable partnership” and he noted the Magna Carta is “the foundation of the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances,” which both Democrats and Republicans stood to applaud. While in New York City, Camilla met Sarah Jessica Parker at the New York Public Library for an event for her charity The Queen’s Reading Room.
What Melania wore for the Queen:
For those wondering, First Lady Melania Trump wore…
a white Ralph Lauren suit for the arrival
a strapless Christian Dior Couture gown for the state dinner
and a gray wool Dior pantsuit (below) for the farewell, according to WWD
Trump calls “Y.M.C.A.” the gay national anthem:
This old queen. Trump said his wife “hates when I dance to what is sometimes referred to as the gay national anthem,” referring to the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.,” during a speech Friday at the Villages, Florida. “She goes, ‘Darling, please don't dance. It's not presidential.’”
She’s right, but as for “Y.M.C.A.” being the “gay national anthem,” everyone knows it’s actually been Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” since 2011, except for the summer of 2023 when it was briefly Kylie Minogue’s “Padam Padam.” Commenters in a Reddit thread about about an LGBTQ national anthem mentioned “Born This Way” along with Judy Garland’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” Diana Ross’s “I’m Coming Out,” and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” among other tracks. What’s your gay national anthem?
🎬 No. 1 movie: The Devil Wears Prada 2
💿 No. 1 album: Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide, his first No. 1 album
🎵 No. 1 song: Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas,” for its eighth nonconsecutive week
Kid Rock’s taxpayer-funded promo:
Just weeks after an Army helicopter flight near his house drew scrutiny, Kid Rock took a flight in an Army helicopter with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, according to the Associated Press. The singer is now using a pre-recorded video showing him riding in a military helicopter with Hegseth on his Freedom 250 Tour. Smh.
Kimmel responds to FLOTUS:
While the first lady called out Jimmy Kimmel over a joke he made days before the foiled attack on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Kimmel says he has nothing to apologize for because his comment that FLOTUS looked like an “expectant widow” was an age-gap joke.
“It obviously was a joke about their age difference,” Kimmel said during a monologue last week. “He’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am… I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence in particular.” Despite calls from the president for ABC to fire Kimmel, he’s still employed.
Olivia Rodrigo is donating a portion of her ticket sales for good:
Tickets go on sale this week for Olivia Rodrigo’s forthcoming Unraveled Tour, and the singer says proceeds from ticket sales will go to Fund 4 Good, her initiative to fund community-based nonprofits for girls and women around issues like education, reproductive rights, and violence prevention. The tour opens on Sept. 25 in Hartford, Connecticut.
Ariana Grande’s next album is called Petal:
I swear, this woman is always talking about taking time away from music then she’s like, nvmnd, here’s an album ✌︎(’ω’)✌︎ . For the record, I’m not mad about it.
Ariana Grande announced her forthcoming eighth studio album will be called Petal and come out on July 31 while she’s on her Eternal Sunshine Tour. Grande said in a statement the album is about “growing through the cracks of something cold and hard and challenging,” which is truly one of the defining themes of her career and we love her for it.
Britney pleads guilty:
An attorney for Britney Spears appeared on her behalf at her arraignment hearing today in California to plead guilty to a lesser “wet reckless” charge following her DUI arrest in March.
“Through her plea today, Britney has accepted responsibility for her conduct,” Britney’s attorney Michael Goldstein said in a statement. “She has taken significant steps to implement positive change which is clearly reflected in the Ventura County District Attorney’s decision to reduce the charge in this case and dismiss the DUI. Britney appreciates this discretion and is also grateful for the outpouring of support she has received.”
Fashion is art:
“Fashion is very much an art form not in spite of the body, but because of it,” Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton told Vogue about the theme for this year’s Met Gala, “Fashion is Art.”
The Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos are honorary chairs of this year’s gala, which inspired protesters, and while NYC mayors have attended in the past, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani isn’t going. “I love the Met. I think that it's an incredible museum,” Mamdani said in a non-answer when asked why not.
Anna Wintour defended the gala’s economic impact on the city during an interview on Vogue’s livestream, “if you think about the hotels we fill,” not to mention the hairdressers and drivers. “It’s just a ripple effect. It’s no longer one night only, it’s a whole week of occasions,” she said.
The Met Gala almost has enough money:
The Met prices tickets for its annual gala at $100,000 to raise money for its Costume Institute, and it’s raised more than $166 million over past decade. Instead of spending it all, it’s been setting some of that aside for a “quasi endorsement.” By 2030, it could have enough stashed away “to potentially support its own basic operations for the foreseeable future, no matter what happens in the greater museum economy or with the gala itself,” according to the New York Times.
Best dressed:
The Met Gala red carpet is still going as we go to press, but so far, Luke Evans dressed like a Village People member (below), Katy Perry covered her face, Heidi Klum dressed like an statue, Sabrina Carpenter wore a dress made from film strips, and Kylie Jenner’s top was Skims, no? What’s your favorite look?
Thanks for reading! See you next week. ⭐