Seth Meyers takes a closer look at Trump's super-rich cabinet picks
"Late Night with Seth Meyers"/NBC; YouTube
"As a candidate, Trump cast himself as a champion of the working class who would take on Wall Street and fix a rigged system," the host said on Tuesday's "Late Night," "even going so far as to claim that he personally did not get along with rich people."
"Trump says he doesn't get along with the rich and won't cozy up to special interests," he continued. "So who did he pick for secretary of state?"
Meyers is referring the latest cabinet controversy swirling around Trump's pick for the country's highest-level diplomat: Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson. Tillerson reportedly made more than $240 million last year.
"I guess when they drained that swamp, there was oil at the bottom," Meyers said.
Tillerson is under increased scrutiny for his business dealings with Russian oil companies and his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The pick has been especially scrutinized after the CIA found that Russia interfered in the presidential election with the goal of helping Trump win.
Tillerson is just the latest wealthy person to be chosen for a cabinet position by Trump. Meyers pointed out that the combined net worth of Trump's picks amounts to about $14 billion. Those choices include Steven Mnuchin, a 17-year veteran of Goldman Sachs, for treasury secretary; Andy Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which includes the Carl's Jr. fast-food chain, for labor secretary; and six donors who gave about $12 million to his presidential campaign.
"It's not just that Trump's cabinet picks are rich that makes them problematic," Meyers said. "This is a capitalist nation and there's nothing intrinsically wrong with getting rich. It's just that for many of his choices, their records don't necessarily suggest that they'll be a champion of working people."
Watch the latest edition of Seth Meyers' "A Closer Look" below:
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