Equal Time Rule Trumps Trump

As much as Donald Trump may want to use the Celebrity Apprentice finale to announce his presidential candidacy don’t look for that to happen. The reason? Not a lack of ratings. Believe it or not Celebrity Apprentice is NBC’s highest rated show. No, the real reason would be the FCC “Equal Time” rule. Very simply, if an FCC licensed broadcaster allows a legally qualified candidate on the air, it must provide an equal opportunity to all other qualified candidates. There are exceptions for newscasts, and news interview shows, but Celebrity Apprentice doesn’t qualify. So, unless The Donald wants to let President Obama fire Gary Busey, he’s probably going to wait to announce his candidacy until after the finale.