During an interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, anchor Maria Bartiromo confronted former President Donald Trump about his record of hiring staffers who later turned against him. The conversation revolved around what Trump would do differently in a potential second term, and the topic of personnel choices arose.
Trump admitted that he made mistakes in selecting certain individuals for key positions in his administration. He specifically mentioned former Attorney General Bill Barr and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, referring to them as weak and pathetic. He also expressed his dissatisfaction with other officials, such as former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, whom he deemed incompetent.
Bartiromo, known for her direct approach, pressed Trump on his decision-making process, questioning why he had appointed individuals whom he later criticized. Trump responded by attributing his hiring choices to a lack of familiarity with the candidates at the time. He claimed that he now has unparalleled knowledge of people—both good and bad—after his experiences as president.
However, Bartiromo didn’t shy away from challenging Trump’s claims. She bluntly stated that he had failed to “drain the swamp,” a reference to his campaign promise of eliminating corruption and bureaucratic inefficiency in Washington. Bartiromo accused Trump of not living up to his own rhetoric.
In response, Trump defended his actions, asserting that he did, in fact, make efforts to remove individuals he believed were part of the problem. He pointed to his decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey early in his presidency as evidence of his commitment to holding people accountable. Trump claimed that firing Comey was necessary to ensure he could serve out his term, as he believed there was a plot against him.
“The mistake would be people,” Trump said — referring to some of his personnel moves. ” I mean, I wouldn’t have put a guy like [former Attorney General] Bill Barr, and he was weak and pathetic. I wouldn’t have put [former Attorney General] Jeff Sessions. And there are some people that I wouldn’t have put in. You know, most people were good, but I had some people… we had [former Secretary of Defense] Mark Esper. I didn’t like him. He was incompetent. I thought we had other people I didn’t like.”
“Why did you put them in the job then?” Bartiromo asked.
Trump blamed his hiring choices on a lack of familiarity with the candidates.
“I didn’t know the people,” Trump said. “I know the people now better than anybody has ever known. The people I know, the good ones, the bad ones, the dumb ones, the smart ones.”
But Bartiromo put a halt to Trump’s complaints.
“You didn’t drain the swamp like you said you would,’ Bartiromo said bluntly. You didn’t drain the swamp.”
Trump took exception with Bartiromo’s remark.
“I did,” he replied. “I fired [former FBI Director James]Comey. I fired a lot of people. A lot of the people I had, I fired. I fired Comey very early. And, you know, there was a question as to whether or not you could. But I fired Comey. If I didn’t fire Comey, I don’t think I would have been able to serve out my term because that was a plot.”
