Mike Pence used to be funny, and other surprises from Trump staffers' high school yearbooks

Before Secretary of State Mike Pompeo became America's top diplomat, he was Baskin-Robbins' top scooper of the month. Twice.

Meanwhile, National Security Adviser John Bolton had a starring role in a high school production of Finian's Rainbow, and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway was once crowned Miss New Jersey Blueberry Princess, per some exclusive peeks into Trump staffers' yearbooks compiled by Daily Intelligencer.

Some of the Trump squad's superlatives were surprising. Take Vice President Mike Pence, who "could have been a stand-up comedian," says a classmate who perhaps has never seen stand-up comedy. Attorney General Jeff Sessions apparently once stood up for a bullied classmate, but now shies away from immigrants trying to avoid murder.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

Several other staffers stuck to their roots. For example, senior policy adviser and far-right whisperer Stephen Miller once hopped in a girls' track race to prove men were athletically superior, and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn used to surf in dangerous waters no one else would touch — foreshadowing a later propensity to do things he probably shouldn't.

See more of the Trump administration's high school accomplishments — including proof that Energy Secretary Rick Perry looked dashing even without his glasses — at Daily Intelligencer.