Trump was pretty widely known well before "The Apprentice":
. . .
Carter, in modern times at least, seems to be cited the most as the 'unknown, out of nowhere' winner of a presidential election. He is a rather rare example of someone who was both unknown *and* not regarded as a serious contender to win a major party's nomination.
From the book "Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States" (published 1989):
So obviously, it was assumed that a moderately educated American would know who Donald Trump was in 1989.
Regarding Carter, I heard a story that he appeared on the TV show
To Tell the Truth circa 1974, and the panelists failed to identify him.
