US President Donald Trump attends the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, US, February 2, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

Trump, who helped conceive and build the "Apprentice" franchise with Burnett, retains a financial stake in those TV shows and is listed as an executive producer.

Trump has said it's a courtesy title for which he is doing no work. He has not detailed how much money he's making from this season.

Financial disclosures Trump filed during the campaign show his company, Trump Productions, earned about $5.9 million from "The Apprentice" shows in 2015.

Thursday was not the first time that Trump has criticized Schwarzenegger over the show's ratings. Trump tweeted last month that Schwarzenegger was "swamped" in his "Celebrity Apprentice" debut "by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT."