'I just don't want a poor person': Trump explains why he added billionaire Wall Street execs to his Cabinet

pulse

June 22, 2017 3:38 AM

"And they had to give up a lot to take these jobs."

President Donald Trump at a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday night offered some insight into why he added several Wall Street executives to his Cabinet.

"So somebody said, 'Why did you appoint a rich person to be in charge of the economy?'" Trump told supporters during a rally at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. "I said, 'Because that's the kind of thinking we want ... because they're representing the country. They don't want the money.’

"And I love all people — rich or poor — but in those particular positions, I just don't want a poor person," Trump continued. "Does that make sense? If you insist, I'll do it — but I like it better this way."

But though he had long advocated letting successful business leaders try their hand at running the government, Trump during his presidential campaign often used a more negative tone when discussing Wall Street specifically.

"I know the guys at Goldman Sachs. They have total, total control over" Ted Cruz, Trump said in South Carolina while campaigning for the 2016 primary. "Just like they have total control over Hillary Clinton."

"I know the people on Wall Street ... I'm not going to let Wall Street get away with murder," Trump also said at a 2016 campaign rally in Iowa. "Wall Street has caused tremendous problems for us."

Trump, however, went on to select many people with Wall Street ties for government roles, including former Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin as Treasury secretary; Goldman's president and chief operating officer, Gary Cohn, as chief economic adviser; and Goldman managing director James Donovan as deputy Treasury secretary.

"And they had to give up a lot to take these jobs," Trump continued on Wednesday night. "When you get ... the president of Goldman Sachs ... having him represent us — he went from massive paydays to peanuts. But these are people that are great, brilliant business minds, and that's what we need."

"We can't have the world taking advantage of us anymore," Trump said.

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