New Apprentice, Kelly Perdew, a Fountainhead Fan

We noted several months ago that Trump’s first apprentice, Bill Rancic, was reading The Fountainhead. But now we’ve learned that Trump’s newest apprentice, Kelly Perdew, is a bona-fide fan of the novel.

From an article in the New York Sun:

About 17 million Americans watched Thursday night as Donald Trump chose his next “apprentice” in a three-hour television special on NBC. And even that number – more Americans than bought Bill Clinton’s memoir or saw Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11″ in theaters – probably understates the significance of the television program.

Thursday’s show featured a “studio” audience in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, a destination spot for high culture that was taken over for the evening by Mr. Trump and his would-be apprentices. NBC’s corporate parent, General Electric, is one of America’s largest companies. And the program is particularly popular among the younger demographic that will influence America’s future.

So what was all the fuss about? Viewers saw Mr. Trump hire Kelly Perdew, who triumphed over the 17 other candidates in the course of the season-long reality television show. And who is Mr. Perdew? A West Point graduate who completed the Army’s ranger training and, according to the “Apprentice” Web site, served two years as a military intelligence officer.

“My military experience will really help me,” Mr. Perdew told Entertainment Weekly.

In promotional material on the show’s Web site, Mr. Perdew says that if he had a super power he would use it to “help the thousands of brave Americans putting their lives on the line to protect our freedom.” He lists “The Fountainhead,” a libertarian tract by Ayn Rand, as among his favorite books.

Keep reading…