Trump fires 'wiseguy' lawyer

NEW YORK -- After Erin Elmore dissed Donald Trump's advisers on the latest episode of NBC's "The Apprentice," Trump gave the sassy lawyer the kiss off.

"All I was doing was appealing to Mr. Trump's independent decision-making ability," Elmore said Friday. "It's his name on the line. He makes decisions by himself all day long. He's a big boy."

In the episode's task, teams created Home Depot how-to clinics. Former beauty queen Elmore, the ninth candidate fired this season, was upfront about her lack of home improvement skills -- but it was a passing boardroom quip that really fired up Trump.

"I gotta listen to them," Trump said of his trusty advisers George Ross and Carolyn Kepcher.

"You have to?" Elmore said with a smile and a wink.

Kepcher called the comment "dumb" while Trump called Elmore "a real wiseguy."

"I was called a wiseguy and if that's the worst thing Donald Trump has to say to me, I'm all right with it," said Elmore.

Christine McVeigh, Home Depot's Manhattan director and one of the episode's judges, agreed with Trump's decision. McVeigh was impressed with Elmore's ability to attract consumers to the clinic, but her boardroom behavior was baffling.

"To me, Erin was very sharp," McVeigh told the AP. "But last night, seeing her be a little flirtatious, winking at Donald and asking him not to trust his people and go with his gut spun it differently."