WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� There's a common trait that President-elect Donald Trump is clearly prizing as he selects those to serve in his new administration: experience on television.
Trump loves that "central casting" look, as he likes to call it.
Some, like his choices for defense secretary, , and transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, are TV hosts on Trump's favorite network, Fox News. Mike Huckabee, his choice for U.S. ambassador to Israel, hosted the Fox show 鈥淗uckabee鈥� from 2008 to 2015 after his time as Arkansas governor.
, a former syndicated talk show host and heart surgeon, was tapped Tuesday to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that oversees health insurance programs for millions of older, poor and disabled Americans. He would report to Trump's choice for health and human services secretary, himself a regular on the cable news circuit.
Trump, , has made no secret of his intention to stack his administration with loyalists after his decisive 2024 election win 鈥� including some whose lack of relevant experience . But he's also working to set up a more forceful administration in this term, and in his eyes, many of those people happen to intersect with celebrity.
The trend was not lost on Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, who posted on social media after the Oz nomination: 鈥淲e are becoming the world鈥檚 first nuclear-armed reality television show.鈥�
For good measure, Himes added: 鈥淛ust spitballing here, but what if the Attorney General and the Secretary of HHS fight each other in an octagonal cage?鈥� That was a reference to Trump's affinity for the UFC fighters who do battle in the octagon.
Choosing TV personalities isn't that unusual for the once-and-future president: A number of his first-term choices 鈥� John Bolton, Larry Kudlow, Heather Nauert and Mercedes Schlapp, . Omarosa Manigault Newman, a confrontational first-season member of Trump's NBC show 鈥淭he Apprentice," was briefly at the White House before she was fired.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who ran Trump鈥檚 2016 transition team until he was fired, said that eight years ago, Trump held 鈥淎pprentice-like interviews at Bedminster,鈥� summoning potential hires to his club in New Jersey.
On a call on Tuesday organized by the Council on Foreign Relations, Christie said this year鈥檚 Cabinet choices are different than 2016鈥檚 but it鈥檚 still 鈥淒onald Trump casting a TV show.鈥�
鈥淗e鈥檚 casting,鈥� Christie said.
Trump has readily highlighted the media experience of his choices as he's announced them. He said Duffy, and onetime cast member of MTV鈥檚 鈥淭he Real World," was 鈥渁 STAR on Fox News.鈥�
Hegseth, a military veteran, 鈥渉as been a host at FOX News for eight years, where he used that platform to fight for our Military and Veterans,鈥� Trump said. He also noted that Hegseth's book 鈥淭he War on Warriors鈥� spent nine weeks on The New York Times 鈥渂est-sellers list, including two weeks at NUMBER ONE.鈥�
As for Oz, Trump said: 鈥淗e won nine Daytime Emmy Awards hosting 鈥楾he Dr. Oz Show,鈥� where he taught millions of Americans how to make healthier lifestyle choices."
It's also true that those seeking positions in Trump's orbit often take to the airwaves to audition for an audience of one. Tom Homan, Trump's choice for 鈥渂order czar,鈥� is a frequent Fox contributor. Ohio Sen. JD Vance was chosen as Trump's running mate in part because of how well he comes across on air.
Trump's choice to lead the , Brendan Carr, upped his profile when he took to Fox News to argue that a pre-election appearance on NBC's 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥� by Democratic nominee Kamala Harris was a violation of the 鈥渆qual time鈥� rule governing candidate appearances on television.
The White House-to-cable news pundit pipeline tends to cut across administrations of both parties, to some extent. President Joe Biden had three MSNBC contributors on his transition team and his former press secretary went to the network after she left the White House. Biden, though, looked to career diplomats, longtime government workers and military leaders for key posts like the Defense Department.
Trump's affinity for Fox News is well-documented, though the romance cooled for a time after in 2020, a move that infuriated Trump and many of the network鈥檚 viewers. Trump suggested viewers should migrate to other conservative news outlets.
While the Arizona call ultimately proved correct, it set in motion and led some Fox personalities to embrace conspiracy theories, which $787 million to settle a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems.
But Trump is still an avid watcher 鈥� the network provides Trump a window into conservative thinking, with commentary from Republican lawmakers and thinkers who are, often, speaking directly to the president-elect.
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Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Michelle L. Price in New York contributed to this report.
Colleen Long, The Associated Press
