A fired ‘Apprentice’ contestant says he has potentially damaging Trump audio — but won’t release it because he wants him to win

Donald Trump. Carlo Allegri/Getty Images

A former contestant on “The Apprentice” told Business Insider he has potentially damaging  Trump audio from his time on the show. But he says he won’t release it because he wants the Republican nominee to win on Election Day.

Brian McDowell, a candidate on the third season of the show in 2005, said he was approached by reporters from People Magazine and The New York Times to publish the audio. Business Insider also asked McDowell for the audio, but he declined to provide it. An independent source confirmed the existence of McDowell’s audio and his assessment of it.

McDowell said he was also aware of the $5 million offer being pitched by David Brock, the founder of a pro-Clinton Super PAC, to help pay for legal fees stemming from potential non-disclosure agreements from the show that were still standing. McDowell said he no longer was under an NDA from the show.

McDowell said that despite still refusing to release the audio, he wanted to publicize its existence because he thought it was a good way to display the importance of electing Trump. He said he obtained it by recording his experience on the show and its set himself. He declined to provide a detailed description of the audio.

He said the election is “bigger than Trump and $5 million,” saying he believed that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s potential presidency would greatly harm the US. He listed the selection of Supreme Court justices as a reason for why he felt Trump’s election was pivotal.

Brian McDowell. 

McDowell is also the Cape May County, New Jersey, coordinator for the campaign to elect Trump, and he operates Jersey Beach Realty in North Wildwood, New Jersey.

The former “Apprentice” candidate has not shied away from publicly defending Trump. In late October, the Wildwood Leader reported that McDowell had removed the name of Republican Rep. Frank LoBiondo from campaign signs outside of his business.

LoBiondo had disavowed Trump after a leaked “Access Hollywood” tape showed Trump boasting to NBC’s Billy Bush of being able to make unwanted sexual advances on women because he was famous. A series of women subsequently came forward to accuse the Manhattan billionaire of making unwanted sexual advances, which he vehemently denied.

“After the Billy Bush tapes came out [LoBiondo] said he was un-endorsing Trump,” McDowell said. “He never endorsed him.”

In April, the Daily Mail reported that the Trump campaign helped connect McDowell with the publication for a story on pro-Trump “Apprentice” candidates, and McDowell helped the publication find additional sourcing.

“He’s not perfect,” McDowell told the publication of Trump. “I don’t agree with everything Donald Trump does, and I don’t agree with everything Donald Trump says, but he’s the best candidate we have.”

McDowell also once helped Donald Trump Jr. find a charter plane so that he could travel on short notice to give a campaign speech.

A photo of McDowell (back left) with Donald Trump Jr. from earlier in the campaign. Brian McDowell

At the time, McDowell said he was supporting Trump for his kids and grandchildren.

“It’s not about me or Trump or 15 minutes of fame, it’s about the future generations,” he said.

He added: “I don’t like everything Donald Trump says and I don’t like everything Donald Trump does. I surely didn’t like getting fired on “The Apprentice”. I support Donald Trump because I compare him to the great presidents who built this country’s infrastructure, [Franklin D.] Roosevelt and [Dwight] Eisenhower. These presidents got things done, and so will Donald Trump.”

McDowell was the second contestant to be fired on the third season, having told Trump himself that he should be fired from the program.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for The New York Times and People also did not respond to requests for comment.

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