Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough is livid with Andy Puzder, President Trump's labor secretary nominee, for remarks he made about fast-food workers in 2011. When speaking at two different universities in 2011, Puzder — the CEO of CKE Restaurants, the company that operates Hardee's and Carl's Jr. — described hiring employees in the fast-food industry as picking "the best of the worst." "In fast food, you sort of compete for the best of the worst," Puzder said, per CNN Money's report. "In other words, you're not getting the Microsoft guys. At Hardee's we were getting the worst of the worst. Nobody wanted to work at Hardee's."
Scarborough was incensed:
CNN Money pointed out that on other occasions, Puzder has had more positive things to say about his employees and their jobs. Puzder noted in a May 2011 radio interview that California's high unemployment rate had allowed him to hire college graduates for these "very, very meaningful jobs," and in 2014, when testifying before the Senate, he said he's seen his employees' "pride and determination in their careers and in their lives."
Article continues belowThe 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.
Puzder's Senate confirmation hearing to lead the Labor Department is slated for Feb. 2.