Donald Trump Gives Anand Vasudev a Second Chance

 Photo by Virginia Sherwood/NBC

 

Big business can be cutthroat, and no mogul plays harder than Donald Trump. He’s actually become a TV icon based on the not so nice phrase, “You’re fired.” So we expected no sympathy when we learned that one of this season’s competitors on The Apprentice was caught cheating. But, as usual, the Donald surprised us.

Apprentice staffers discovered that Anand Vasudev texted friends to try to drum up financial support during a challenge. So in episode nine, Mr. Trump sent him packing. In a recent conference call interview, he explained the decision, “It simply was against the rules. They knew that. He knew it. And it was against the rules.”

Although the move came out of left field for competitors and viewers alike, the fact that Vasudev was given a second chance was even more shocking. As is always the case during The Apprentice’s battle of the final two competitors, several eliminated contestants are brought in to lend a hand. No one expected that Anand would be among those who returned.

Mr. Trump told us why he brought Vasudev back saying, "Well first of all, I think he’s outstanding. He made a mistake and he redeems himself because he came back on the final episode which you’ll see on Thursday.”

He even said, he’d be happy to work with Anand in the future. “He’s a fabulous guy and I would hire him in one instant…. It was a tough deal that he went through. He made a mistake. But he’s a fabulous guy and I wouldn’t even hesitate to hire him in any capacity.”

And, he feels that Vasudev is already on the road to rebuilding his career, “I think he’s recovered fully from that and he showed his stuff. He showed his stuff. He was doing something that was very much against the rules, but… I believe he’s fully recovered from that. A little bit of a difficulty though. There’s no question about it.”

Finalist Brandy Kuentzel agreed, adding “Anand was on my team in the final task and I can attest that he is phenomenal in every sense of the word. I think you’ll see that throughout the final task that he really does redeem himself as Mr. Trump said.”

Tune in to see if Anand helps Kuentezl take home the title tonight when The Apprentice finale airs at 10 p.m. EST/9 p.m. Central on NBC.