Arnold Schwarzenegger to Donald Trump: Think about hiring 'fact checker'

Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't letting slide criticism from Donald Trump about his performance on The New Celebrity Apprentice reality show — telling the U.S. president to think about getting "a fact checker."

The host and former California governor said Friday he was leaving the show, blaming its association with Trump for tainting viewership and ratings.

Not surprisingly, the announcement was met with a tweet from Trump, who once hosted the long-running show and has stayed on as executive producer.

• Questions raised about Trump's continued role in Celebrity Apprentice

"Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't voluntarily leaving the Apprentice, he was fired by his bad (pathetic) ratings, not by me," Donald Trump tweeted Saturday. "Sad end to great show."

Schwarzenegger fired back online: ""You should think about hiring a new joke writer and a fact checker."

The most recent Apprentice season ended last month, averaging fewer than five million viewers per episode. The ratings are the lowest of any of its celebrity versions.

"With Trump being involved in the show, people have a bad taste and don't want to participate as a spectator or as a sponsor or in any other way support the show," Schwarzenegger said in an interview with the Empire website. "It's a very divisive period now, and I think this show got caught up in all that division."

The Terminator actor said Friday he wouldn't mind working with NBC and producer Mark Burnett again "on a show that doesn't have this baggage."

Despite both being Republicans, Schwarzenegger did not endorse Trump during the American election campaign last year and made it clear he would not vote for him.

It's not the first time Trump has chastised the replacement host for his performance. Last month, the president drew attention to the show's decrease in ratings, prompting another exchange with Schwarzenegger online.