Former President Trump on Wednesday reflected on his first term in the White House, stating he now knows the “right” people to serve in his administration should he be reelected.
“We have to get the right people. When I first went there [in] 2016, we were, I had a lot of good people. I had a lot of good advice, but I put people in that in some cases, were not what I really wanted because I didn’t know much about Washington,” Trump said during a Fox News town hall broadcast Wednesday and Thursday.
The former president said he had only been to D.C. 17 times prior to becoming president.
“But I got to know them, and I got to know them the hard way. And I know the good ones, the bad ones, the weak ones, the smart ones, the dumb ones. I know them all now,” he said.
Trump was responding to an attendee at the Fox town hall with Sean Hannity who asked him to discuss what he learned during his first White House term.
“A big key to running, it is get the right people. You put the right person and the right group of people at the heads of these massive agencies, you’re going to have tremendous success,” he said. “And I know now the people and I know them better than anybody would know them.”
Trump’s first term featured rapid turnover rates, which experts at the time described as record-setting.
Critics of Trump have argued a second term for him could lead to an administration filled with loyalists focused on implementing his agenda and willing to cater to his whims.
Trump’s first administration was stocked with more traditional Republicans who were seen as a bulwark against the then-president’s impulses and more controversial ideas.
The race between Trump and Vice President Harris remains tight as the vice president continues to chip away at the healthy lead Trump had when President Biden was still in the race.
According to a polling index by Decision Desk HQ and The Hill, Harris has a 4 percent lead over Trump.