Trump Staging Apprentice-style Competition at SBA With Nicki Minaj as Judge

The Trump administration is reviving a competition reminiscent of The Apprentice at a government agency with a $1 million prize pool, according to a news report.

Fox News reported that the Small Business Administration will host a pitch competition in honor of the United States’ 250th anniversary that pits five entrepreneurs in a battle to win over a three-judge panel with their business ideas for a share of the $1 million pool.

The competition echoes President Donald Trump’s days as the boss on the 2000s reality show The Apprentice, on which competitors vied for a chance to be an understudy at one of his companies. The SBA event also feels a lot like Shark Tank.

Nicki Minaj will be part of the panel of judges for the pitch competition, Fox News reported. Along with the rapper, Grant Cardone, an entrepreneur and private equity fund manager, as well as Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb and U.S. chief design officer, will judge the competition. Actor Dean Cain will host the event on September 18th in Washington, D.C.

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Nationwide entrepreneurs submitted ideas this year to the SBA with the five finalists being selected to participate in the live pitch competition in Washington, D.C., on September 18th, per Fox News. The five finalists are defense technology company Compotech of Brewer, Maine, metalworking machinery manufacturer Winton Machine of Suwanee, Georgia, plastic mold manufacturing company Plas-Tech Tooling of Garner, Iowa, pressure vessel manufacturer Red River of Gillette, Wyoming, and machinery manufacturing firm VetPowered of San Diego. The winner will get $400,000, second place $250,000, third place $150,000, fourth place $125,000, and fifth place $75,000.

It won’t be the first time Minaj has cozied up to the Trump administration. In a January report, Minaj called herself Trump’s “number one fan” after she received one of his gold cards that expedited the citizenship process of the Trinidadian rapper.