President Donald Trump gave a scorecard, of sorts, to his Cabinet and White House senior staff, telling Newsmax on Friday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was "born for this job."
During an exclusive interview with Trump, "Finnerty" host Rob Finnerty asked the president for the first words that came to mind about a handful of officials in his administration.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio
"Born for this job. We had a really nasty campaign in the 2016 campaign ... and yet I respected him. I thought he was a great debater. I thought he was very smart. ... He's just a great guy. And he did something else that's amazing. He got, essentially, a hundred votes" in his Senate confirmation. "He's got 99, but, you know, the vice president votes, if you do the vice president. But he got unanimous on both sides. So he was able to get along with the radical left, and you could say the radical right. He was able to get along with everybody. He's a very talented guy, Marco, and we're really happy."
Education Secretary Linda McMahon
"Great. And I'll tell you a little bit surprising because, you know, Linda's sort of a quiet person. ... And you know what she's really doing? It's not just the Harvard stuff. The more important is that she's bringing education back to the states. The states are going to take education. She's done a great job."
Energy Secretary Chris Wright
"So Chris is one of the most successful people in the entire world of energy. And I was told, 'You'll never get him.' And Doug Burgum is the one that recommended; I was gonna use Doug. I would say for Chris just great expertise, great talent."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
"Has a soothing way that's unbelievable. ... He's got a great way about him and very highly respected."
Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem
"I mean, look at the border. Now, she worked with Tom Homan, and so that's a big advantage. But she's done a fantastic job. She's been great."
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"One of the most popular people. ... It's very simple with him: He wants to make America healthy again. You know, when you look at some of the things that are childhood diseases and all sorts of things that didn't exist 25 years ago. Certainly not in the numbers. No, he's working very hard to make our country healthy again."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt
"She's become a star. It’s that face, it's that brain, it's those lips, the way they move, they move like she's a machine gun. ... She's a star and she's great; she's a great person actually. I don't think anybody's ever had a better press secretary than Karoline. She's been amazing."
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.