Donald Trump claims Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't 'voluntarily leaving' 'Celebrity Apprentice'
The president tweeted the host "isn't voluntarily leaving."
— -- President Donald Trump has responded to Arnold Schwarzenegger's announcement that he's leaving "The Celebrity Apprentice," in which he cited the show's "baggage."
Trump tweeted Saturday morning, "Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't voluntarily leaving the Apprentice, he was fired by his bad (pathetic) ratings, not by me. Sad end to great show."
Minutes later, Schwarzenegger replied on the social media platform, saying: "You should think about hiring a new joke writer and a fact checker."
The actor and former California governor, who replaced Trump as host of the show, released a statement Friday announcing his decision to leave the show.
"I loved every second of working with NBC and Mark Burnett. Everyone -- from the celebrities to the crew to the marketing department -- was a straight 10, and I would absolutely work with all of them again on a show that doesn't have this baggage," he said.
NBC did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
The news of Schwarzenegger's abrupt exit comes amid a bitter feud between "The Celebrity Apprentice" host and President Trump, who remains on the show as an executive producer.
After the latest season of "Apprentice" premiered, the president took to Twitter to complain about the ratings.
"Wow, the ratings are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got 'swamped' (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT. So much for ... being a movie star--and that was season 1 compared to season 14," Trump wrote.
"Now compare him to my season 1. But who cares, he supported Kasich & Hillary," the president added, referring to his opponents in the race for the White House.
After Trump continued to talk about the ratings at an official White House event, the National Prayer Breakfast, Schwarzenegger responded by posting a video to his social media accounts.
In the video, Schwarzenegger said, "Hey, Donald, I have a great idea. Why don't we switch jobs?"
"You take over TV, because you're such an expert in ratings, and I take over your job," he added. "Then people can finally sleep comfortably again."