Apprentice's Bradford Undone

The Apprentice 2's second firee, Bradford Cohen, made a bold decision right out of the starting gate. He volunteered to switch to Apex (the all-women team) and be their project manager, and that choice paid off: His team won, and because he led Apex to success, he was granted immunity from getting fired the following week if Apex should lose. Last week, when his team lost the ice-cream sales task — due to Ivana's mismanagement — the overconfident Bradford gave up his free pass to go into the boardroom on an even footing. Big mistake. Huge! His impulsive gamble put a bad taste in Trump's mouth and caused a shock heard round the Watercooler: The otherwise extremely competent 33-year-old was fired. Here, TV Guide Online asks the flirty Florida legal eagle about his crazy risk.

TV Guide Online: Why did you give up your exemption?
Bradford Cohen: What happened was, we were discussing what went wrong with Mr. Trump. The women weren't really stepping up to the plate and taking responsibility for what they did wrong or right on the task. There was a little bit of animosity that I had the exemption. I was feeling that. So I thought, "You know what? I'm going to waive my exemption, and maybe it will pull this team together" — because it was tremendously fragmented and just completely unorganized. I figured that every good general goes to battle with his soldiers and that was where my mind-set was.

TVGO: But Apex didn't understand or appreciate that gesture.
Bradford: No, they didn't, and Mr. Trump certainly did not.

TVGO: Why didn't you try to defend yourself?
Bradford: The boardroom is four hours long and you only saw 20 minutes of it. I gave my reasoning in the taxicab confession, and that was the same reason I gave in the boardroom.

TVGO: The Donald didn't respond to your reasoning?
Bradford: No. Mr. Trump is very much like myself in that once he locks onto an idea, he will not let go. He had the idea that what I did was a terrible mistake, and I had the idea that what I did was honorable. I guess in the future weeks, we'll see if that is what this team needed.

TVGO: If you had a minute with Trump today, what would you say?
Bradford: I just spoke with him for longer than a minute.

TVGO: OK, so how does he feel about firing you?
Bradford: I think he knows that I was the hardest worker on that team and that I was the best individual on that team, if not the best individual on both teams. He's a tremendous individual. I had a lot of respect for him coming into this whole ordeal. Leaving it, I have even more respect for him because he's just a gentleman. He came up to me and shook my hand. We discussed it and he said, "You know what, it could have gone either way. I could have taken it as very honorable and here is a guy who has a lot of confidence. But I didn't take it that way. So that was a risk you took." But that's what I do. If you don't swing for the fences, you never hit home runs.

TVGO: Do you make a lot of these rash decisions?
Bradford: Sure I do. I've made a lot of money doing that.

TVGO: Does it usually work out better than this?
Bradford: Eighty percent of the time, it does. Risk taking to me is a natural thing to do. I also do some real-estate development. Here is a good example: I went out to [a property where] there were lots for sale [at] $12,000 a lot. I started buying up everything that I could get my hands on because I thought it was a bargain. It could have been the biggest mistake of my life. But now all those lots are worth $23,000 [each].

TVGO: So you are doing OK, even without winning?
Bradford: [Laughs] I was doing very well before the show, believe me. The $250,000 [Apprentice prize] was a cut in pay. Sometimes I win and sometimes I lose. For the most part, I win.

TVGO: Why volunteer for the women's team? Another impulsive decision?
Bradford: No, it totally wasn't impulsive. If given the opportunity, I've never not taken the lead. It is very difficult when you have a choice of switching to a team and leading them. Not knowing what you are getting into — that takes a lot of guts to do. Not everybody on the [men's] team had the motivation to do it. But when it came down to it, no one else volunteered.

TVGO: You came off as quite assertive and opinionated on the first challenge. Is that the real you?
Bradford: I definitely think I was too assertive. I lead in a different way than the women's team is used to. I don't think they all appreciated it, but it is what needed to be done to move things forward. [Apex] likes to kick around ideas for hours on end. I'm not that type of person.

TVGO: Think you'd have had better luck if you stuck with the guys?
Bradford: No. I don't regret anything I do in life, or on the show. I thought this was a tremendous experience. This show is ridiculous. I'm not even kidding. You guys think it is safe in the boardroom, but it is not. You have no idea what is going to go on in the next couple of weeks. It is vicious.

TVGO: Did you eventually get your luggage?
Bradford: [Laughs] I did get my luggage. I had to sleep in my boxers a couple of nights, but I was OK. I had to walk outside in my suit for a couple of days. It is a nice suit, though, so I wasn't worried about it. It was one of my favorites.

TVGO: Did the judges turn sour when you accidentally called Carolyn Caroline?
Bradford: I'm sure it didn't help too much. But I was feeling some electricity between us. [Laughs] I think there was some magic there. I think she enjoyed it. I think there was a love-hate relationship going on there. More love than hate. I like her.

TVGO: Is Stacie J. really the next Omarosa?
Bradford: You know what? I think everyone is playing that up. But I really don't think there will ever be another Omarosa.

TVGO: So Stacie isn't as crazy as she seems?
Bradford: She handles pressure in a different way than everyone else does. The way that she handles the pressure is very unsettling to the rest of the team.

TVGO: Who has what it takes to be the next Apprentice?
Bradford: I think the best woman or the second-best man. You'll have to see because it will blow your mind.

TVGO: By the way, you have a law practice, but you drive a golf cart to work?
Bradford: Yes, I do. I do drive my golf cart to work. But it is not just a regular golf cart, it is souped up. I put a gas engine in it and monster tires. It is very similar to how I am on the show — I always take it to the extreme, whatever it is.

TVGO: Will you go back to your practice?
Bradford: Yes. A Washington, D.C., firm contacted me and was interested in me doing some independent lobbying. If there is a career serving society in the future in the political arena, I might take them up on that. We'll have to see.