Trump’s picks excite backers
Cabinet appointees draw voters’ support
As each cabinet announcement draws fresh criticism of the wealth, connections or opinions of Donald Trump’s latest appointees, many Americans who voted for him say the president-elect is doing what he promised to do: draining the swamp. And they’re excited. To them, the idea of a defense secretary nicknamed “Mad Dog” is bliss. They rejoice in an energy secretary who once said he would eliminate the Department of Energy. And while some Trump supporters balk at ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson’s close ties with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, they say they will trust Trump’s judgment about his secretary of state nominee.
These voters, who often echo Trump’s own campaign statements, say the affluence of his cabinet picks is an advantage, not a liability.
“The guys he’s putting in there, they don’t need to do this. They’re independently wealthy,” said Trump voter Roger Mansfield, 67, a small-business owner in Carlisle, Pa. “They don’t need any more money. The motivation is to make pragmatic, rational business decisions. What could be wrong about that?”
The Associated Press interviewed Trump voters about his cabinet picks and other postelection revelations, such as a CIA assessment that Russia interfered in the November election on Trump’s behalf. Top Republicans in Congress have endorsed investigations into the Russian meddling, but the idea drew jeers from Shay Chamberlain, 37, of Menomonie, Wis.
“That’s kind of ridiculous,” Chamberlain said. “I tried to influence the elections, you know what I mean? I mean, we all did when we went on Facebook and put silly memes on there and tried to influence our friends to go one way or another.”
Some cabinet choices have been called into question for their lack of experience, their extraordinary wealth and their past relationships with the departments they are to lead. Much of the criticism has come from Democrats, but experts, past government officials and some Republicans have also raised doubts.
On jobs, some Trump voters are celebrating.
“I’m tickled pink, man,” said Jimmy McDonald, an assistant bank vice president from Tazewell County, Va. Some laid-off miners in Appalachia have been called back to work, some shortly before Trump was elected. One factor was a recent spike in the price of metallurgical coal used to make steel. McDonald credits Trump.
“More coal’s being brought out right now since the last 60 days actually,” said McDonald, 57. “Trump made that a major focus of his campaign in August, when he started talking about the coal miners, and the coal trains are running, man. And people are excited. It’s just a different vibe in the air right now.”
But Iraq War veteran and factory worker Rebecca Zbichorski, 28, of Milwaukee, said she’s re-evaluating Trump’s rosy predictions.
“His promising to bring all those jobs back? I think he overspoke on that a little bit. I don’t feel confident on that,” Zbichorski said.