It is a curious fact that people are never so trivial
as when they take themselves seriously.
—Oscar Wilde}
They Thought I
Was Doing So WellS
oon after The Apprenticepremiered and was a hit show, I be-
came a popular choice for television commercials. I turned a
lot of them down, and I did a few, but one for Visa always remains
in my memory. It was funny and I was allowed to display a self-
deprecating attitude that I think took people by surprise. The sur-
prising thing is that I’m more humble than people might think.
I’m humble enough to be grateful, for one thing, and I still have
a sense of humor about myself.
In this commercial, called “Rooftop,” I am shown on top of
Trump Tower holding my Visa card when a gust of wind blows it
out of my hand and down many scores of floors to the street below,
which happens to be Fifth Avenue. Then I’m seen rummaging
through a Dumpster in search of my lost card, and when a well-
dressed passerby on Fifth Avenue sees me emerge from the bot-
tom of the Dumpster, she indignantly remarks, “and I thought he
was doing so well!”