HE CAN TRUMP THAT ... THE DONALD LOOKS FOR A NEW `APPRENTICE' IN L.A.

Byline: David Kronke Television Critic

As part of Donald Trump's ongoing feud with Rosie O'Donnell, he told the Associated Press on Wednesday that ratings for ``The View'' -- the show currently serving as O'Donnell's bully pulpit -- ``are up because of people like me.''

Now we'll find out how ratings for ``The Apprentice'' will fare because of Trump.

For those who spent the week before Christmas actually contemplating the holiday, O'Donnell made fun of Trump on ``The View,'' mussing her hair in a fair approximation of The Donald's own celebrated mane.

Trump fired back on sundry TV outlets, calling O'Donnell ``disgusting'' and ``fat'' and other epithets. O'Donnell called Trump a ``pimp'' because he runs a beauty pageant; Trump compared O'Donnell to those who started the war in Iraq.

At least they didn't go overboard. But the war of words has overshadowed the return of ``The Apprentice'' and its first venture outside the cozy confines of Manhattan. This time around, Trump and his back-stabbing charges set up shop in Los Angeles, where he exults, ``I love L.A. -- what's not to love about great weather and an economy that's worth about $600 billion?'' and, ``When I think of Los Angeles, I think of movies, I think of sex, I think of cars.''

Eighteen contestants are again divvied into two teams, here named Kinetic and Arrow, and, at least in the early going, Kinetic pierces Arrow to the heart. While the winners luxuriate in a hilltop mansion, the losers are forced to rough it outdoors, sleeping in a tent and washing in a makeshift shower.

Those making a name for themselves in the first couple of episodes include Heidi, Kinetic's competent project manager (a new rule has the project manager remaining the same until the team loses a competition), Frank, who seems a fairly panicky Arrow team member, and Carey, whose male swimwear design drops jaws and turns heads -- swiftly and in the opposite direction.

The Daily News spoke with Trump before, alas, the O'Donnell brouhaha broke, so we were denied any delightfully libelous descriptions of Rosie's IQ or looks. (Our discussion of Trump's hair was not met with nearly as much scorn as O'Donnell's was.) But clearly, Trump was ready to rumble: Unbidden, he brought up last year's quickly canceled ``Apprentice'' incarnation featuring Martha Stewart, denouncing it as ``a fiasco'' and ``a terrible show.''

Q: What added dynamic did L.A. provide to the show this season that differed from Manhattan?

A: It was a very different feel. L.A. is equally nasty but less sinister. It's got its own energy. It's every bit the same energy but in a different form, a different tone. We've done five seasons in New York, and it's a different jungle every year.

But it was a good time to move. The city was fantastic. They really put out the red carpet; they could not have been nicer. The mayor (Antonio Villaraigosa) was fantastic.

There are some amazing challenges. We take advantage of the outdoors and the whole California thing.

I think we could do well with some circulation for the show. We may do Miami, (Las) Vegas, Chicago.

Q: Your daughter, Ivanka, is now your eyes and ears, watching the teams go about their business. Did she want to do this?

Your previous assistants were a little cold and imperious, and she seems a lot nicer, even while delivering bad reports on the contestants.

A: She liked the idea to do it. Mark (Burnett, series executive producer) wanted her. She gets pretty nasty as the season goes on.

She's capable of holding her own.

Q: You're looking for a Type A kind of worker for this position, but we see the sort of bickering and grandstanding and backstabbing that can occur when you put a bunch of Type A's in the same room. Do you foresee a contestant ever winning who just gets to work, gets the job done and doesn't truck in self-aggrandizement?

A: Randal Pinkett (winner of ``Apprentice'' season four) was a little that way. Very smart. He was aggressive, yet not seemingly too aggressive.

It's not all screaming and craziness, but there are tremendous egos and tremendous brainpower, and they do tend to butt heads. It makes me laugh. It makes me happy, too, to see such great talent in our country.

We have an episode in which one team must divide in two and compete against itself, so friends become enemies. You see a lot of interesting things there. They really go after each other. It's crazy.

Q: Frank's desperation in (tonight's) boardroom scene really makes you cringe.

A: Frank's a surprisingly strong player. He's been very successful. I loved the way he fought for himself in that scene. I love a fighter.

Q: You have a new rule this year that a team's project manager stays the same until that team loses a challenge, and Heidi has been successful (in the episodes available for preview).

A: Heidi is smart and smooth and beautiful. She's great.

Q: But does that also become a liability? Do her teammates start to put a target on her back as she gets more successful?

A: She does become a target. As nice as she is, she becomes disliked by some people. That dynamic is interesting.

Q: Your hair looks blonder in the California sun.

A: But does it look fuller?

Q: Yeah, it does a bit.

A: Then I'm going to move to California. Fuller is the key, not blonder.

Q: All things being the same about yourself, do you think you'd get as much media attention if you have a head of hair that blends in with everyone else's more?

A: Probably not. I've been thinking about getting a crew cut. We'll see what happens. That's a possibility. It's an interesting question. I'm not sure what the answer is. But at this point, I think I'll keep it the way it is.

David Kronke, [phone]

[e-mail]

THE APPRENTICE

What: Rosie O'Donnell's sparring partner's reality competition comes to Los Angeles.

Where: NBC (Channel 4).

When: 9:30 tonight; thereafter, 9 p.m. Sundays.

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Photo:

(color) no caption (Donald Trump)