Trump Defends Cabinet, Says ‘I Prefer Rich People In Charge’

President of the United States, Donald Trump has defended his cabinet pick, saying he prefers rich people in charge of the US economy.

Addressing a group of supporters in Iowa on Wednesday, President Trump said he prefers the wealthy over the poor because they will not go after the nation’s resources.

Trump has what appears to be the wealthiest Cabinet in modern U.S. history, a collection of elites that includes a billionaire heiress, Exxon Mobil’s CEO, a former Goldman Sachs partner and an investor who made millions off underwater mortgages during the financial crisis.

Other rich appointees include Steven Mnuchin, treasury secretary, a former hedge fund manager, and Ben Carson, housing secretary, who made his fortune selling books on his career in medicine and his political ideas.

So far, Mr. Trump’s Cabinet picks have a combined net worth of more than $14 billion, that’s at least 50 times greater than the Cabinet that George W. Bush led.

That sum is way higher than the aggregate wealth of Barack Obama’s Cabinet, which Forbes estimates to be $2.75 billion.

While stating that he likes the rich and poor alike, Trump noted that there were certain positions he did not want the poor to handle

“So I said …. because that’s the kind of thinking we want… because they’re representing the country,” the billionaire president said.

“They don’t want the money. And they had to give up a lot to take up these jobs,” Trump said, making a particular reference to commerce secretary Wilbur Ross, a billionaire investor.

Referring to Gary Cohn, his chief economic adviser, Trump said: “This is the president of Goldman Sachs. Smart. Having him represent us, he went from massive paydays to peanuts, to little tiny … I’m waiting for them to accuse him of wanting that little amount of money.

“These are people that are great, brilliant business minds, and that’s what we need, that’s what we have to have so the world doesn’t take advantage of us.

“We can’t have the world taking advantage of us anymore. 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? Does that make sense?

“If you insist I’ll do it but I like it better this way, right?”