US President, Donald Trump, says he deliberately did not appoint “a poor person” to some positions because it doesn’t make sense.
Trump used Iowa rally on Wednesday night to defend those holding economic roles in his administration and his decision to appoint the wealthy to his cabinet.
The US president told a crowd: “Somebody said why did you appoint a rich person to be in charge of the economy?
“And Wilbur’s [commerce secretary Wilbur Ross] a very rich person in charge of commerce. I said: ‘Because that’s the kind of thinking we want.’”
Trump explained that Ross and his economic adviser Gary Cohn “had to give up a lot to take these jobs” and that Cohn in particular, a former president of Goldman Sachs, “went from massive pay days to peanuts”.
He added: “And I love all people, rich or poor, but in those particular positions, I just don’t want a poor person. Does that make sense?”
He made the comments as he toured the state with Agriculture Secretary, Sonny Perdue and Ross partly to celebrate a Republican congressional victory in Georgia.
