On Monday, November 8, we spoke to David Johnson, who had been the ninth contestant fired by Donald Trump on the November 4th episode of The Apprentice.  Beginning with this episode, the teams were reconfigured with David, Anand, Poppy, and Stephanie on Fortitude, and Brandy, Steuart, Clint, and Liza on Octane.  The task was for each team to create a four-page ad that showcased the Donald J. Trump Signature Collection for Macy's department store.  David and Brandy were the project managers, and David took a lot of the task onto himself for his team, which also gave him the lion's share of the blame when the Macy's staff preferred the brochure designed by Brandy's team.  David was fired by Mr. Trump, but has since moved to San Francisco and embarked on a relationship with fellow Apprentice contestant, Poppy Carlig.

Here are the facts about David Johnson from his NBC Apprentice bio: David Johnson, 34 (Portage, Mich.), embodies the image of the All-American father of five. The Navy veteran, part-time stand-up comedian and once successful account manager, married his high school sweetheart and is father to five children. Johnson, a Portage, Michigan resident, once had two houses and could buy his family whatever they desired, and in today's recession has become an unemployed family man who can't pay his mortgage and is determined to prove to his children that he is still a great provider.

USTOWNHALL SPEAKS TO DAVID JOHNSON OF THE APPRENTICE 10: 

USTH: What was your game plan going into this process, and did you have any sort of criteria of things that you would be willing to do and things that you would not be willing to do in order to win the game and become Donald Trump's apprentice?

DAVID JOHNSON: I think it's kind of obvious that I would have done about anything to win. Going into the thing, I figured I'd either be first one fired or win the whole thing because I wasn't going to play with any team members. And I looked at it as a competition where there's only one winner, and from the very beginning I just wanted to play it my own way. And yes, I did some things that were questionable and they got me to a point but in the end, I think the way I played it ultimately led to my demise.

USTH: In the boardroom, your teammates all sort of ganged up on you each week it seemed. But one thing I noticed is that, even though you were defending yourself, you always maintained your composure and you never really went off on anybody in a negative way too badly.  Was that also part of your strategy? How did you manage to maintain your composure when so many different people were coming at you each time?

DAVID JOHNSON: Well, I mean it's pretty simple, I guess, when you look at it. It's a contrast from the way I played it during the task to when the boardroom started. And the reason the boardroom is – Donald Trump and his family are in the boardroom, and it's a different world and a different environment in there. And, it's a room of respect and I'd have to maintain that in front of Mr. Trump himself.

So, it's very easy for me to revert back to my military days and go into a mode where it's a lot of sirs and yes and I sit there and I take what I get. Squabbling doesn't ever accomplish much and, I was hoping that by other people getting enraged at me and saying things that it would actually take their credibility away and allow me to look better in the eyes of Mr. Trump – if I didn't fire back with the level that they came at me.

And, there were some times in that boardroom that it was pretty brutal back at me in general and the whole Oompa-Loompa tirade that [Clint] went on and so, I actually found myself laughing at a couple of his comments.

And so, no. I mean, it wasn't hard to keep my composure because of the people I was with and it being Donald Trump – I had to be professional in the boardroom.

USTH: Now that all the gameplay is over, when you look back on your teammates, are there any ones that you actually liked in real life and maybe want to keep in contact with or at least have some respect for them?

DAVID JOHNSON: Well, the thing is, it's funny. You know, how it happens during the show, and then what goes on afterwards when, everything is done and you're allowed to actually find out who these people are.

Actually during filming even Gene and I had some words in the beginning of the season. And we quickly, actually, became quite close throughout his time there and then after. And Gene and I stay in contact. You know, Brandy and I being that she lives close to where I live now, I've seen her outside the show – and a couple of others.

And, of course, there's – it's funny because everyone's personality is different when the competition is over. It's almost like a boxing match if you will. You can hate your opponent while you're in the ring and you can throw your jabs and then afterwards you go out and you can actually have a beer.

So I mean of course it's different and there have been some relationships, some more than others, that have come from the show. [Editor's note: Some time after David and Poppy were fired from the show, they embarked on a relationship that continues to this day.]

USTH: In the ending segment [Rockport: Next Steps], you said you started your own company. Can you just tell us what type of company you started and how things are coming along in that regard?

DAVID JOHNSON: I've been in telecommunications for ten years – ever since I got out of the military – and I love it. It's an ever changing environment. And so [my company] is a technology consultant company where I have third party contracts with vendors and I sell my products and services to my old client base that I had and that I established as well as [to] new [clients].

So, it's one of these I guess you'd call me a VAR, which is a value-added reseller, because of my relationships with a lot of my accounts. I'm able to steer them in the right path of technology. And so, I started it pretty much right away when I knew I didn't want to go back and work for "the man." I didn't know what to expect, of course.

And it's been pretty decent. Bumps along the way, of course, once the show came out. There's been some, "Oh, man. You know, wow! That's who we're doing business with!" kind of moments which I've had to do damage control on. But for the most part, it's good. I have relationships, so it was nice to get back in with my old clients.

USTH: You talked a little bit before about how after you were fired, you got together with Poppy, but I just want to clear up something Alex Delgado told me when I interviewed him in September. He said that after you guys get fired, you all gather together in a "sequester house" like the TV series, Big Brother. Is that the case or what really happens when you're in that taxi and you're going away?

DAVID JOHNSON: Well, yes. Of course. You're fired - you go to that other place, if you will, and you're sequestered until the end of the show. Everyone's there in various stages if they do get fired but ultimately every contestant does get together at the end of the show when everything is done.

So, once filming of the show wraps then you're able to be free because even in the "sequester house," if you will, you still have rules and babysitters where you cannot really spend time with the other contestants unless it's monitored and you're not really allowed to do much.

It's a controlled environment. But, after everything's done on [the show], during those few days of wrap, that's the time where, I was able to spend time with [Poppy] and [do] some other things.

You know, it was after I was fired that they stopped bringing the remaining seven contestants over to the other house because it didn't make sense with filming being so short to go [to the other hotel for sequester].

And so, all those contestants that remained – they stayed [in the original location]. We stayed on the other end of town and then once everything was wrapped, we were able to get together.

The Apprentice airs each Thursday night at 10:00pm Eastern & Pacific / 9:00pm Central on NBC.

Use the image gallery below to read the other interviews in this series

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