President-elect Donald Trump doesn't seem to have switched up his interviewing style from his days as a ruthless businessman on reality TV show The Apprentice. In a wide-ranging reveal published in The New York Times on Wednesday, candidates who have either interviewed for positions in Trump's White House or simply sat down for a chat with the president-elect dished on their experiences being interrogated by America's next commander-in-chief. The overwhelming takeaway: Once a businessman, always a businessman.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Trump is all about wanting to know "what you can do for him." "If you filibuster, he'll cut you off," Gingrich said. Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, a contender for the next secretary of agriculture, said Trump clearly approached their sit-down "from a deal standpoint." "He believes that we in the United States have been sort of patsies over the years in the way we've dealt with our foreign competitors and international trade — and I agree with him — and he wanted to know what I would do about it," Perdue told The New York Times. Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown noted a similar takeaway, saying Trump "made it clear that he's a businessman and he's going to delegate to people."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US borderSpeed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked callSpeed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side dealThe pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policiesSpeed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final daySpeed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts moreSpeed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custodySpeed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
