‘Even when he was much younger, you knew that he was going to go places,’ Sen. Schumer said of fellow New Yorker Donald Trump.

When you’re in the hot seat on the Oval Office “Apprentice,” it helps to have your own personal media outlet. But Mr. Trump, his monopoly on attention has shown, still controls television.

Trump in a March 2008 episode of “Celebrity Apprentice.” ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection Shortly before taking office during his first term, Trump was asked by MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and ...