• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, November 22, 2024

It isn’t that Donald Trump is seeking to appoint TV personalities to positions of prominence in his new administration.

Speaking as a lifelong booster of the best darn medium there is, that’s obviously fine since everybody knows TV people are really, really smart--  or at the very least, smart enough. Thus, the real issue is who he is picking.

For example, I had my own head-scratching moment when I heard Trump was seeking to propel Pete Hegseth to the top office in the United States Department of Defense.

As a TV guy, my first thought was: Pete Hegseth? Isn’t he the guy from the weekend “Fox & Friends”? He only works two days a week! The TV Blog says no to Hegseth at Defense.

Advice to the president-elect: Appointing weekday TV personalities, who are obviously better than weekend ones, is a faster route to confirmation.

Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education, co-founded the World Wrestling Federation (later World Wrestling Entertainment), which is a television brand if there ever was one. 

Wikipedia says she was once a wrestler too. As for her education, she earned a bachelor’s degree in French from East Carolina University. Props to her -- French is hard!

The TV Blog heartily endorses the elevation of Linda McMahon to the top of the Department of Education. Evidently, Hulk Hogan was not available.

Next up: A star of “The Real World” who is now seeking a real-world ride into the Department of Transportation as secretary.

He’s Sean Patrick Duffy, whose amazing TV credits include “The Real World: Boston,” “Road Rules: All Stars” and “Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Seasons” (Whew! Long title!).

Duffy, a Republican, represented Wisconsin’s 7th congressional district from 2011 to 2019 in the United States Congress.

More recently, it was back to reality TV last year for Duffy as he became co-host of “The Bottom Line,” airing weekdays on Fox Business. See? A weekday guy!

Although Trump may have mistaken Sean Patrick Duffy for Patrick Duffy, the TV Blog endorses the Duffy named Sean for Secretary of Transportation based mainly on his background on “Road Rules.” Who better to guide the nation’s transportation policy?

Another prospective Trump appointee is Doug Burgum, governor of North Dakota, who Trump is putting up for Secretary of the Interior. 

He is not a TV guy, but he came up for mentioning in a TV Blog last year for a TV performance. 

Burgum was one of seven Republicans seeking the GOP nomination for President who got together for a free-for-all “debate” in September 1923 at the Reagan Library.

The TV Blog’s pan of Burgum’s comportment may have been a factor in his decision to quit the race.

“Like other pseudo-candidates who turn up every four years, [Burgum] has about as much chance of becoming President as a giraffe,” wrote the TV Blog.

“And yet, there he was at Wednesday night’s debate throwing tantrums, ignoring the moderators’ pleas to desist, and doing little more than adding to the atmosphere of anarchy that characterized the entire mess.”

Atmosphere of anarchy? If Burgum is confirmed as Secretary of the Interior, he will be right at home.

Photo courtesy of ABC News from last summer’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.