CNN's Anderson Cooper Demolishes the Idea that Trump Hires the 'Best People'

Cody Fenwick
and
AlterNet
24 April 2018

In the wake of a continuous stream of staffing controversies in President Donald Trump's administrations, CNN's Anderson Cooper opened his show Tuesday night be examining candidate Trump's repeated campaign promise that he would only hire the best people.

"If the president hires only the best people, why aren't they still on the job?" the host of "Anderson Cooper 360" asked. "Why have so many left the administration? Why are others serving under ethical clouds? Why are some facing so much difficulty getting confirmed?"

Cooper's questions come as Trump's pick to head the Department of Veterans Affairs is facing allegations of creating a hostile work environment, drinking on the job, and inappropriately prescribing medications. Senators of both parties have questioned whether his experience as the lead White House physician qualifies him to run an organization as large as the VA.

But Cooper notes that the president's personnel crisis didn't start or end with Jackson.

Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, current EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and former staff secretary Rob Port all faced a range of ethical and legal scandals. Former Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, and former campaign staffer George Papadopoulos have each found themselves in the middle of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. 

"This is an administration that has seen all of the above, and, critics says, brought most of it on itself," Cooper said.

Watch the clip below: