KING: Your decision to fire Carolyn Kepcher, why?

TRUMP: Well, Carolyn is a very nice person and she ran one of my golf clubs and it's a terrific club, Trump National in Westchester. And, she did a good job. But when she went on "The Apprentice" and then "The Apprentice," as you know, became the number one show on television and she became a star and I became a star. We all became stars, everybody, and George Ross became a star. You know George walks down the street and...

KING: Yes, people know him.

TRUMP: ...20-year-old women are screaming "George, George." They're going crazy.

KING: So what -- what...

TRUMP: But the difference is, well the difference is with George it rolls off his back. He's been there. He's a hardened veteran. Carolyn loves being a star and you can't be a star and run something in terms of a business in my opinion.

KING: But you're a star and run something.

TRUMP: Well, I run it and I run it differently. I have two businesses, you know. Star is part of my business. But, Carolyn if I said, you know, "What's the price of the belts," it was like, you know, belts? Now, with all of that being said I like Carolyn. I would help Carolyn. I hope she gets something good. But it was just time for her to go.

KING: You mean having this star effect affected her work? She was less good at what she did?

TRUMP: Well, I think she was much less good at what she did and she loved being a star and I think that's great. In other words, I'm not complaining about that. I think that's great. But it can't be for me.

I mean if she wants to continue to be on television, and this happens a lot in "The Apprentice," you know, people legitimately want to work for me and all of a sudden they're on television and now it's like "We really want to go into the movies, Mr. Trump, the hell with real estate," right?

So, that's happened to a couple of the winners of "The Apprentice." They got so enamored with that beautiful camera right over there that that was much more important to them than doing a job.

KING: She wrote a bestseller or a book called "Carolyn 101." There were some who thought, maybe critics of you, that you were jealous of her."

TRUMP: No, I was not jealous of Carolyn at all. Carolyn ran a small country club for me and she did nicely on "The Apprentice" and so did George. I mean they did great. The show became this great success. But I have to have people that during the day are doing a different job. And, I don't blame Carolyn because I fully understand how that happens. It would happen to many people.

KING: Yes, sure.

TRUMP: But, look, I wish her the best.

KING: Have you heard from her?

TRUMP: I have.

KING: And?

TRUMP: Well, nothing, I just wish her well. I'll give her references. I'll give her recommendations. I wish her well.

KING: Your once good old pal Martha Stewart, who you defended strongly on this program in the past...

TRUMP: Many, many times.

KING: ...criticized you for getting rid of her and she told Access Hollywood that you are out of control.

TRUMP: Well that's not exactly. Why don't you read the full quote? I mean give me a break, Larry.

KING: That's all I've got is that part.

TRUMP: Well, you have very terrible research. I'm shocked at you. But she said "I'll be sitting on a pedestal all by my lonely self" and that's fine. But, you know, Martha is another (INAUDIBLE).

KING: But that's not -- that's not an absurd thing. Do you want me to read the whole quote like that? You're on a pedestal. OK, go ahead.

TRUMP: No, I'd just like you to be accurate. You know I love your (INAUDIBLE).

KING: It's not inaccurate, OK, never mind.

TRUMP: Semi inaccurate. So, Larry, so Martha did a show called "The Apprentice." I was not in favor of it. NBC wanted it very much and Mark wanted it, Mark Burnett wanted it. I thought it would not be successful and I thought it was bad for "The Apprentice" and we were at the number one position and all of that.

So, she did a show. She just came out of the can. She goes on the show and shockingly nobody watched. It was a total failure and it was a critical failure too. I mean people thought it was horrible. Her performance was horrible, everything.

The show failed and she blamed me. She blamed me because her show failed. So, I didn't mind at first but after about the ninth time of listening to it, I wrote a letter and somehow the letter, people started hearing about this letter and they got the letter and it was very critical of Martha but you know...

KING: So you think she's just retaliating?

TRUMP: Well, I don't know if she's retaliating. How do you retaliate? She does "The Apprentice" and her version of "The Apprentice" failed. I did "The Apprentice" and my version of "The Apprentice" became the number one show on television. She shouldn't hold that against me but she blamed me because it failed.

KING: Is she a friend of Carolyn?

TRUMP: No, not at all.

TRUMP: Well, I run it and I run it differently. I have two businesses, you know. Star is part of my business. But, Carolyn if I said, you know, "What's the price of the belts," it was like, you know, belts?