Mark Burnett: from Trump’s ‘Apprentice’ boss to ‘high-powered’ British fixer

1 day ago 1

ARTICLE AD BOX

LONDON — It’s not often that a guest in Downing Street gets a call from the U.S. president. And it’s even rarer that they then hand the phone over to the prime minister for an impromptu chat.

But there one evening in February, Keir Starmer was passed a call from Donald Trump, typical diplomatic protocol dispensed with and the wine that accompanied dinner yet to be drained.

Each and every contact with the U.S. president was being handled with the utmost caution. The prime minister was yet to meet Trump since he took back the White House — and the future of Ukraine and Europe was on the line. So, too, was Britain’s close standing with the United States.

The man who handed Starmer the most high-profile of surprise callers over the teacups and after-dinner chocolates was Mark Burnett, the British-born Hollywood producer whose decision to cast Trump in “The Apprentice” transformed him in the eyes of millions of TV viewers from a serial bankrupt tabloid sensation to a business heavyweight who could plausibly lead the free world.

Trump has rewarded the 64-year-old former paratrooper — with 13 Emmys under his belt — by giving him the unusual role of special envoy to the U.K.

For the president, it means one of his most trusted lieutenants doing his bidding in London during a vulnerable moment when the U.K. is seeking a sweeping trade and tech deal to avoid the U.S. tariffs threatening to blow a hole in Starmer’s economic plans.

In return, London has access to a man variously described by the six British officials POLITICO spoke to as a “high-powered fixer” who “understands the U.K. in a way others might necessarily not,” and who has been serving as a “vital bridge” to get the two administrations quickly acquainted during a time of turbulence.

“He speaks to the president a lot — they’re personal friends,” said one U.S. government official, who, like others in this article, was granted anonymity to discuss the nature of the special envoy’s role. “He will tell you that Trump used to work for him for 15 years,” the official added with a laugh.

It typifies a heavy dose of showbiz bravado between the former MGM Worldwide Television Group chair and the man he helped make hundreds of millions of dollars stemming from the 14 series of “The Apprentice” he starred in.

His relationship with Trump hasn’t always made things easy for Burnett in the largely MAGA-loathing liberal television industry.

Burnett became embroiled in a row over whether tapes of Trump saying a deeply offensive racial epithet exist. He even distanced himself from the-then Republican presidential candidate in 2016 after the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape leaked.

“I am NOT ‘Pro-Trump,’” Burnett said at the time. “Further, my wife and I reject the hatred, division and misogyny that has been a very unfortunate part of his campaign.”

The diplomatic handling of talent — negotiating their desires and anxieties while making them feel protected and secure — is one of Burnett’s greatest skills, many of his collaborators told the New Yorker for a 2018 profile. But so, too, is mythmaking.

Burnett grew up in what he’s recalled as the “gray and grimy” outer East London area of Dagenham. Aged 17, he signed up to the British Army and served in Northern Ireland and the Falklands, taking part in the 1982 advance on Port Stanley.

When he left the military after five years, his plan was to work as a “weapons and tactics adviser” in Central America. Instead he impulsively left a layover in Los Angeles to try his luck as an immigrant in California. His first job was as a nanny in Beverly Hills. There was even a stint selling T-shirts on the Venice Beach boardwalk.

Cut to today: There’s the stacked awards cabinet for shows like “Survivor,” “The Voice” and “Shark Tank,” the 7,000-square-foot home in Malibu and a direct line to the president of the United States.

There’s the private jet, too. Tail sign: N139MB. The N means it’s American-registered, “MB” are his initials, and he’s told passengers that the “139” is an allusion to the bus route he would take to school in Dagenham, where both his parents worked at the Ford factory.

It serves as the ultimate un-humblebrag, emphasizing the success he found pursuing the American dream by highlighting just how far he’s come. But it also demonstrates just how important his modest roots in east London are to his own mythology.

That was apparent in the Downing Street dinner with Starmer and his most powerful adviser, Morgan McSweeney, on Feb. 13. No. 10’s readout of the dinner noted that Burnett had reflected on how his mother had worked part time in Downing Street as a waitress more than 30 years ago.

Three decades later, there he was taking a call from the president, able to pass the phone over to a surprised Starmer so they could discuss his upcoming visit to the White House.

“It’s clearly been emotional for Mark, being in No. 10, where his mother worked as a waitress, and he now represents the president of the United States,” one Downing Street official said. “It’s also a real point of connection with Keir to see that aspirational story.”

‘Knows what his role is and isn’t’

Mythmaking comes far less naturally to Starmer, but he clearly sees some faint traces of similarities in their life stories. The PM places his own working-class origins in Oxted, Surrey, just 30 miles from where Burnett, two years his senior, grew up. “Keir recognizes the story of someone who made the best of his talents and is clearly a success story,” the same official added.

Starmer seemingly benefited from Burnett’s knowledge of how Trump operates. That night, according to the Times, he gave helpful advice on how to “navigate the White House” and had also been in close contact with McSweeney, Starmer’s chief of staff, since before Christmas. The meeting in the Oval Office was widely seen in Britain as a success.

“Having Mark in place has been vital in speeding up the usual ‘getting to know you’ phase of a new administration coming in. It’s clear the president likes and respects Mark, and in an administration where so many decisions are made in the Oval Office, cutting to the chase has real benefits,” the British official said.

“Mark knows what his role is and isn’t. He isn’t a policymaker but he is a vital bridge for policymakers to ensure both sides are talking the same language, niggles can be resolved and progress can be made.”

Burnett was there a fortnight later in the Oval Office, on Feb. 27, watching on, as Starmer handed Trump an invite from King Charles III for an “unprecedented” second state visit.

It was a fawning appeal to Trump’s mega-ego, but it also showed shrewd use of the royal family that the monarch-minded president adores to bolster Starmer’s chances of serving as some sort of transatlantic courtier.

Over Burnett’s two trips to London in his capacity as special envoy, POLITICO has ascertained that he has twice visited Downing Street, held a private meeting with Foreign Secretary David Lammy and sat down with Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.

Burnett was also there as Reynolds met U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington on March 18 under efforts to thrash out a tariff-dodging trade and tech deal. On his first day as Britain’s ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson hosted Burnett and his wife — the Northern Irish actress and producer Roma Downey — for dinner.

“He can offer advice, he can identify synergies, he has the ear of the president — for us it feels like a real net positive,” said a second U.K. government official.

“He is a very dynamic character, he’s energetic, he’s British by birth and upbringing so he understands the U.K. in a way others might necessarily not.

“He’s a very high-powered fixer in many ways. And he’s in both social and professional circles with the president. He can put things on his radar and say ‘how are we getting on on this’ or ‘have we agreed to these things.’”

For the details, the “nuts and bolts” — such as hammering out the U.S.’s punitive steel tariffs in trade and tech negotiations — “he’s not your guy,” the second official said. Instead, Burnett is good for “banging the drum” on the “bigger picture.”

“I mean, people say when you remove politics, President Trump has sort of a very close cadre of old friends who he’s known for a long time,” they added. “Lots of people sort of turn up at Mar-a-Lago, with an agenda, with political aspirations. And, Mark Burnett is not one of those people.”

Competing roles

Like Steve Witkoff with the Middle East and Keith Kellogg with Ukraine, Burnett is a member of the president’s inner circle who has been assigned as his delegate on the world stage.

“Think of them almost like a sort of personal representative,” said Theo Zenou, a research fellow at think tank the Henry Jackson Society, pointing out Trump’s heightened “paranoia” about the CIA and lack of trust of the “traditionals of the Washington establishment” during his second presidency.

“My sense is that’s why Trump put him in — so not only is he repaying him, but he’s also somebody that Trump will trust more than traditional diplomats.”

But unlike Witkoff and Kellogg and other special envoys who are assigned to hotspot regions or challenging policy areas, Burnett is liaising with one of America’s most steadfast allies.

He will also in the coming months be competing in the role with Warren Stephens, the billionaire investment banker and Republican donor, who Trump nominated as his ambassador to London.

Lewis Lukens, who was dismissed as the second in command at the U.S. embassy in London during Trump’s first presidency, described the setup as “strange” and warned it creates “huge potential for conflict and confusion in having those two positions.”

The retired diplomat pointed out that Trump’s statement welcoming Burnett to the role to “enhance diplomatic relations” and boost “trade, investment opportunities, and cultural exchanges” mirrors what is expected of the ambassador.

“What is that going to leave Warren Stevens to do if Mark Burnett is doing these other things?” Lukens told POLITICO. “Once Stephens is confirmed they, I assume, will have to have a sit down and divvy up the pie.”

Even the serving U.S. official quoted above admitted there will be “friction” after Stephens’ appointment is confirmed by the Senate. Burnett has been appointed for an initial 180 days but indicated he anticipates his post will be renewed.

Burnett was not available to be interviewed for this piece, but in a statement to POLITICO he praised Stephens as an “excellent nominee for ambassador” and said he looks forward to “working in lockstep with him on behalf of President Trump.”

“I’m grateful for the faith the president has shown in me and for the chance to give back to the United States, the country which has opened so many doors for me,” Burnett wrote.

He did not respond to a question on whether he’s had to divest interests that could create perceived conflicts with his White House role. Burnett left MGM in 2022 eight months after Amazon acquired it. Silicon Valley has been lobbying Britain hard to drop its digital services tax, something now being considered by the government in order to avoid tariffs.

One tech industry figure said Burnett’s relationship with the British creative industries could well provide positive outcomes for firms in the U.K.

“Someone who’s been on the board of [British film and television group] BAFTA will be good for defending the interests of the creative industries in whatever trade deal is reached between the U.K. and the U.S.,” they said. “He’ll be able to explain to him why it’s important to have U.S. money flowing into U.K. productions.”

Both Lukens and Zenou also pointed out that a special envoy doesn’t have to go through the same scrutiny process as an ambassador.

But leaping over protocol could yet yield results, just as with the spontaneous phone call in Downing Street.

“Trump likes to do that kind of thing, right? He likes to break rules and the norms and not follow the usual protocols. So that’s right up his alley,” Lukens said.

“And I think that that shows, in a way, how someone like Mark Burnett can be very effective in that role, because he has the kind of relationship where he can pick up the phone and call the president. Very few people have that.”

Read Entire Article