WASHINGTON (AP) — 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, Pete Hegseth, 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 “Huckabee” from 2008 to 2015 after his time as Arkansas governor.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, 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, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., himself a regular on the cable news circuit.
Trump, a former reality television star himself, has made no secret of his intention to stack his administration with loyalists after his decisive 2024 election win — including some whose lack of relevant experience has raised concerns among lawmakers. 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: “We are becoming the world’s first nuclear-armed reality television show.”
For good measure, Himes added: “Just spitballing here, but what if the Attorney General and the Secretary of HHS fight each other in an octagonal cage?” 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 — John Bolton, Larry Kudlow, Heather Nauert and Mercedes Schlapp, were all on TV — mostly also on Fox. Omarosa Manigault Newman, a confrontational first-season member of Trump's NBC show “The Apprentice," was briefly at the White House before she was fired.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican who ran Trump’s 2016 transition team until he was fired, said that eight years ago, Trump held “Apprentice-like interviews at Bedminster,” 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’s Cabinet choices are different than 2016’s but it’s still “Donald Trump casting a TV show.”
“He’s casting,” Christie said.
Trump has readily highlighted the media experience of his choices as he's announced them. He said Duffy, a former lawmaker and onetime cast member of MTV’s “The Real World," was “a STAR on Fox News.”
Hegseth, a military veteran, “has been a host at FOX News for eight years, where he used that platform to fight for our Military and Veterans,” Trump said. He also noted that Hegseth's book “The War on Warriors” spent nine weeks on The New York Times “best-sellers list, including two weeks at NUMBER ONE.”
As for Oz, Trump said: “He won nine Daytime Emmy Awards hosting ‘The Dr. Oz Show,’ 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 “border czar,” 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 Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, upped his profile when he took to Fox News to argue that a pre-election appearance on NBC's “Saturday Night Live” by Democratic nominee Kamala Harris was a violation of the “equal time” 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 Fox made an early call of Arizona for Biden in 2020, a move that infuriated Trump and many of the network’s viewers. Trump suggested viewers should migrate to other conservative news outlets.
While the Arizona call ultimately proved correct, it set in motion internal second-guessing and led some Fox personalities to embrace conspiracy theories, which ultimately cost the network $787 million to settle a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems.
But Trump is still an avid watcher — 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.
Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Michelle L. Price in New York contributed to this report.
FILE - Mehmet Oz visits the AW Driving School & License Testing Center in Allentown, Pa., Sept. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - Pete Hegseth walks to an elevator for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, Dec. 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., speaks during a hearing July 18, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Duffy to be Transportation Secretary. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
BOSTON (AP) — This one wasn’t about their perfect season or a 15-game winning streak or even the NBA Cup.
This was a chance for the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers to see where they stood against the defending champions.
“This was a great test for us, and unfortunately we didn’t get the win,” said Donovan Mitchell, whose 35 points couldn’t prevent the Cavaliers from picking up their first loss of the season, 120-117 to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.
“It’s definitely a measuring stick,” said Mitchell, who scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, including 14 straight Cleveland points in the final four minutes. You want to see where you’re at, but not hold too much weight on it. ... We’re not going to be the same team now that we are in April."
The Celtics won an unprecedented 18th championship last spring -- rolling over the Cavaliers in five games in the Eastern Conference semis – and entered the season as the favorites to repeat, or at least make it back to the NBA Finals. Cleveland, which won a playoff series last year for the first time since LeBron James left the second time in 2018, wasn’t expected to be a contender.
But it was the Cavaliers who shot to the top of the standings this fall, with a franchise-record 15-game winning streak that left them as the last unbeaten team in the league. Coach Kenny Atkinson was the first NBA coach ever to win his first 15 games with a new team.
“You want to be a part of history in that regard. But it’s a thing of the past. It’s over with. And, you know, it was a good run,” Mitchell said. “It was fun. When you’re playing basketball, good basketball, and obviously winning games -- whether it’s blowouts, close games, come-from-behind wins -- you enjoy these moments.
“It’s great to be part of history. We wish we had kept it going,” he said. "But, like I said, there’s no championships in November.”
The Celtics used a 3-point barrage on Tuesday night to open a 21-point lead, then watched as the Cavs cut it to two in the third quarter. Cleveland trailed by nine, 114-105, with 90 seconds left before Mitchell hit a floater and then another layup to cut the deficit to five points.
With Boston up 117-110 and 25 seconds left, Mitchell hit a rainbow 3-pointer to make it a four-point game. After Jayson Tatum, who scored 33, hit one of two free throws, the Celtics star bowled Mitchell over while going for a steal.
Mitchell stayed down on the court for a few minutes, but the play was not reviewed to determine if it was a potential flagrant foul that would give the Cavaliers a pair of free throws and the ball.
"I was just praying to God I didn’t have a concussion. That’s my only thing,” said Mitchell, who watched the play again after the game and didn’t think it should have been ruled a flagrant foul. “It was a play on the ball. He’s got bony shoulders. So I hit his shoulder, and it is what it is.”
Atkinson blamed himself for not having an answer for a Celtics team that went 14 for 22 from 3-point range in the first half to open a 17-point lead. And he praised his team, which faced the Celtics without Issac Okoro (ankle), Caris LeVert (knee) and DeanWade (ankle), for erasing almost all of that deficit in the third quarter.
"They shot the heck out of it," Atkinson said. “That big second quarter, that was too much to overcome. Second half, we turned it up, but it’s kind of too late.”
And the coach was already looking to their next matchup, in Cleveland on Dec. 1.
“They’re so good. We gave resistance in the second half, but ... a lot of stuff we can improve on,” he said. “We’ll have another shot at them soon."
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) sets to drive against Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) battles for a rebound against Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta (88) fouls Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) on a drive to the basket during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome, center, tries to drive between Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) and center Neemias Queta (88) during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) celebrates during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome (2) argues a call during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. The Cavaliers, who were undefeated this season, lost to the Celtics 120-117. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell drops to the floor after colliding with Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, rear, collides with Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome, left, tries to put up a shot against Boston Celtics center Al Horford, right, during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
