US President Donald Trump told a large crowd in Iowa how he does not want “a poor person” to have an economic position in his administration.
Speaking on Wednesday night, Trump defended his appointing of billionaires linked to Wall Street to his cabinet.
“Somebody said why did you appoint a rich person to be in charge of the economy? No it’s true. 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.’”
“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 added.
Trump received criticism after appointing Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin as the new Treasury Secretary, Goldman managing director James Donovan as the Deputy Treasury Secretary, and the chief operating officer Gary Cohn as chief economic advisor.
“And they had to give up a lot to take these jobs. When you get … the president of Goldman Sachs … having him represent us, he went from massive paydays to peanuts. But these are people that are great, brilliant business minds, and that’s what we need.” the US President continued.
“We can’t have the world taking advantage of us anymore,” he added.
“I know the people on Wall Street … I’m not going to let Wall Street get away with murder,” Trump said, defending his actions. “Wall Street has caused tremendous problems for us.”
Trump made the comments as he toured Iowa to celebrate a Republican congressional victory in Georgia.
“We’re 5-0 in special elections,” Trump told the crowd. “The truth is, people love us … they haven’t figured it out yet.”
Trump’s tour comes during the investigation into Russian interference the election and Trump’s firing of FBI director, James Comey.
During the rally, Trump avoided any talk of the controversies surrounding his presidency, other one reference to the apparent “witch hunt,” he was facing from the investigation.