Trump Doesn’t Want a ‘Poor Person’ In His Cabinet

BY James Kosur June 22, 2017

President Donald Trump, at a campaign rally in Iowa on Wednesday, defended his appointment of several billionaires to his Cabinet and senior posts.

Trump told the crowd on Wednesday night: “Somebody said: ‘why did you appoint a rich person to be in charge of the economy?’ I said because that’s the kind of thinking we want, you know really, because they’re representing the country. They don’t want the money. They’re representing the country. And they had to give up a lot to take these jobs. They gave up a lot. And I love all people, rich or poor, but in those particular positions I just don’t want a poor person. Does that make sense?”

“If you insist, I’ll do it, but I like it better this way.”

Trump praised his pick of economic adviser Gary Cohn, who was president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs from 2006 to 2017. Trump’s selective memory must have forgotten about his attacks on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election for getting paid for speaking gigs at Goldman Sachs. During the primaries, Trump accused the bank of having “total control” over his rival Republican Ted Cruz, “just like they have total control over Hillary Clinton.”

But Trump was signing a different tune on Wednesday. “When you get the President of Goldman Sachs, this is the President of Goldman Sachs! Smart! Having him represent us, he went from massive paydays to peanuts, to little tiny peanuts,” Trump said. “I’m waiting for them to accuse him of wanting that little amount of money.”

As far as “giving up a lot” to take the job, Cohn walked away from Goldman Sachs in January with a $285 million payout. According to financial disclosure forms, Cohn’s net worth is at least $600 million. That’s hardly peanuts. Trump has the richest Cabinet in history with a combined net worth of at least $13 billion.

Not surprisingly, Trump avoided any mention of the numerous scandals plaguing his administration, save for one brief reference to the “witch hunt,” which is what he uses to describe the inquiries into his campaign’s ties to Russia.

Welcome to the Red State…