Mike Rowe has become an American icon, not just for his TV shows but for the common man philosophy he imparts to the country. His story begins during the 2016 presidential campaign.
His CNN program “Somebody’s Gotta Do It” was being bumped from its regular time slot due to expanded campaign coverage. He didn’t know it at the time but that was the end of his career at CNN, who probably didn’t like his conservative leanings. Maybe he offended someone or someones at the water cooler, who were forced to find a safe space, disrupting their work.
Rowe used the bumping of his show as the background for a request from the candidates to donate an item to be sold for his mikeroweWORKS Foundation that raises money to help grant scholarships to those who want to pursue vocational training.
“I went online and basically said to Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders, ‘Nice going, guys. You just got my show booted off the network. I’ll forgive you if each of you will make a donation to my foundation,’” Rowe said. “‘What I’m looking for from you, Bernie is your — one of those crumpled, you know, suit coats you always wear. Send that to me and I’ll auction it off. Hillary, send me one of your pantsuits, right?’ And I said to Trump, ‘Send me one of your bathrobes and an autograph. You know, a bathrobe out here.’”
Rowe said he received no response from Sanders or Clinton.
However, not only did Trump give Rowe a bathrobe and signed it but he had it hand-delivered to avoid problems. The bathrobe sold for $18,000 and all the proceeds went to Rowe’s scholarship fund. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders couldn’t be bothered. Rowe says that shows why people voted for Trump. He convinced them that he would look out for the little guy and not the corporations.