Lord Alan Sugar has given President Donald Trump his marching orders after former vice president Joe Biden clinched victory in the nail-biting US election.
Democratic candidate Mr Biden won the key battleground of Pennsylvania on Saturday – some four days after polls closed – pushing him over the 270 electoral college votes threshold.
However Mr Trump said in a statement he considers the election “far from over” as he repeated unsubstantiated claims of fraudulent ballots and vowed to press ahead with legal action.
Lord Sugar deployed the catchphrase he once shared with Mr Trump when they hosted versions of The Apprentice on different sides of the Atlantic.
The British businessman, who has appeared on the competition show since 2005, wrote on Twitter: “@realDonaldTrump it is with regret You’re Fired!”
.@realDonaldTrump it is with regret You're Fired !
— Lord Sugar (@Lord_Sugar) November 7, 2020
When one follower pointed out they had been waiting a while for Lord Sugar to use his famous phrase, Lord Sugar replied: “Just woke up in Auz to the good news.”
Mr Trump judged the US show from 2004 to 2015.
After he declared his candidacy for the presidency, US network NBC announced that Arnold Schwarzenegger would become the new host.
The US president has claimed Mr Biden is “rushing to falsely pose as the winner” and added: “The simple fact is this election is far from over.”
On Saturday morning, a top election official dismissed Mr Trump’s claims of voter fraud.
Mr Trump posted a number of tweets on Saturday, alleging that “bad things” happened, referring to votes being “illegally received” and insisting he has won “by a lot”.
But Federal Election Commission boss Ellen Weintraub said there has been no evidence of voter fraud.