Trump calls ex-CNN boss Jeff Zucker 'human scum' in book about his NBC 'Apprentice' days

Former President Trump blasted ex-CNN boss Jeff Zucker in a new book about his time starring on NBC's "The Apprentice," referring to his one-time ally as "human scum."

In the book "Apprentice in Wonderland," author and Varietyco-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh revisits the show that turned a New York real estate mogul into a reality TV star, which ultimately helped propel him into the White House.

Trump spoke candidly with Setoodeh about his complicated relationship with Zucker, which began when Zucker was president of NBC Entertainment, long before he landed at CNN.

The book explains that when "The Apprentice" was first picked up by NBC, Trump was initially meant to only host the first season and new hosts would be brought on every season forward. But since "The Apprentice" was a ratings hit, Trump was kept on board.

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Things were bitter between Trump and Zucker when it came to the second season contract negotiations, according to the book.

"The $25,000 an episode that Trump earned for the first season of The Apprentice was humiliating," Setoodeh wrote, according to an excerpt published in Vanity Fair on Tuesday. "It wasn’t that he needed the TV money to live off, and the free advertising the Trump Organization got from the series was likely better than any pay package. But it was a status thing: bigger, according to Trump math, was always better. Trump felt that NBC had no choice but to multiply that number by a number so huge it would make him one of the wealthiest men in entertainment."

Trump saw how "The Apprentice" surpassed reruns of "Friends" that aired on the same night and how the six stars of "Friends" each made $1