US President Donald Trump on Saturday kept up his repeated criticism of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, his successor as host of "The Apprentice" TV show, with the assertion that he was fired from the programme because of his "pathetic" ratings.
"Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't voluntarily leaving 'The Apprentice', he was fired by his bad (pathetic) ratings, not by me. Sad end to great show," EFE news quoted Trump as saying in a tweet on his hyperactive Twitter account.
Schwarzenegger announced on Friday that he will not continue with the television programme for another season, a decision he took after his disputes on the media with Trump, the former host of the game show.
The star of the 1984 movie "The Terminator" and former California Governor tweeted a rapid reply: "You should think about hiring a new joke writer and a fact checker."
Schwarzenegger had been picked to replace Trump on "The Celebrity Apprentice", which, along with the original version of "The Apprentice", did much to make the real estate magnate a famed celebrity across America before launching his political career.
Trump, who hosted the show for 14 seasons, decided to leave it in 2015 to concentrate on his presidential campaign, but remains as executive producer of the programme aired by the NBC network.