There’s been a striking trend among each of Donald Trump’s appointees that have rolled in since his election win—they’ve each shared some over-the-top praise of the president-elect.
The sucking up has gone as far as suggesting Trump—who famously wears the same style jacket, shirt, and tie nearly every day—is somehow a “fashion icon” who should be added to Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota.
Below is a look at some of the brown-nosing those in Trump’s orbit have done publicly to earn favor with the soon-to-be 47th president.
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Kristi Noem - Homeland Security Secretary
Kristi Noem, the infamous puppy-executing governor of South Dakota, was once rumored to be among the favorites to be Trump’s running mate this election.
That was derailed by her bizarre revelation this summer she’d gunned down her family’s puppy—in addition to some pretty egregious lies in an autobiography—but her unfettered praise of Trump appears to have paid off in the end.
Sources told CNN that Noem, 52, has been tapped to be the Homeland Security Secretary. That powerful position may not have been in the offing for Noem without her ring-kissing that went as far gifting Trump a four-foot replica of Mt. Rushmore three years ago that emblazoned Trump’s stoic face next to those of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.
More recently, she sung Trump’s praises in a speech at the RNC just days after he narrowly survived an assassination attempt.
“We already knew that Donald Trump is a fighter,” she said. “He is the toughest man I’ve ever met. Nobody has endured more than what he’s been through. They attacked his reputation, impeached him, tried to bankrupt him, and unjustly prosecuted him. But even in the most perilous moment this week, his instinct was to stand and fight.”
Mike Waltz - National Security Adviser
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) was among the most outspoken critics of the Secret Service in the aftermath of the first attempt on Trump’s life in July. Now, he’s been chosen to be Trump’s National Security Adviser.
The retired Green Beret, a known “China hawk” who’s married to a Trump homeland security adviser from the first term, has recently praised the president-elect as a necessary “disruptor” who needs to shake up “bad old habits” in the Pentagon. He was also among a group of Republican lawmakers who backed a push to rename Washington Dulles International Airport to the “Donald J. Trump International Airport.”
Perhaps what caught Trump’s eye the most, however, was Waltz’s fervor as a member of the House task force that probed the Butler rally shooting. In that role, Waltz accused Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of denying “repeated requests” for stronger Secret Service protection for Trump.
Waltz, 50, also spoke at the RNC and praised Trump for overseeing relative peace abroad during his first presidential term.
“I have never in my lifetime seen the world falling apart like it is under Joe Biden, and that’s because, under President Trump, we had a president who defeated ISIS, broke Iran, stood with Israel,” he said. “Always stood with our allies. Made China pay. You didn’t see any spy balloons under President Trump, did you? He deterred Russia. You know what he told Putin—you try anything and I’ll take the tops off the Kremlin.”
Tom Homan - ‘Border Czar’
Among the most polarizing appointments by Trump has been his choice of Tom Homan to be his so-called “border czar.” The 62-year-old, who worked under six presidents, had promised to “run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen. They ain’t seen s--t yet. Wait until 2025.”
Homan first became a border patrol agent under Ronald Reagan. He served in some capacity at the border under each president after—sans Joe Biden—and declared proudly at a Trump event in January that the president-elect’s first term was the “most secure border in my lifetime.”
“The most secure border we’ve ever seen,” he said. “And Donald Trump’s going to do it again. We’re going to lock the border down. We’re going to protect Americans because what’s happening at the border right now, record our Americans have died from fentanyl poisoning, record number migrants have died. A record number women and children to sex trafficking. A record number known and suspected terrorists across the border. There’s one man who’s proven he can secure the border, and he’s standing to my left, Donald J. Trump, and he’s going to do it again.”
Elise Stefanik - United Nations Ambassador
Perhaps nobody has been as steadfast in their support of Trump since 2022 than Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who’s often pointed out that she was the first lawmaker to endorse Trump’s re-election bid.
That early endorsement surely helped elevate her to being vetted as a potential VP pick at one point. The 40-year-old from upstate New York has only upped the praise of her party’s leader throughout this election year, which included her publicly taking back an endorsement for a GOP candidate after he was caught on mildly criticizing Trump on tape in January.
More recently, she sung Trump’s praises in a speech to the Israeli Knesset in May. In July, she said on stage at the RNC that “nothing, absolutely nothing, will stop President Trump from standing and fighting for our great country.”
She added that night, “President Trump will bring back moral leadership to the White House, condemning antisemitism and standing strong with Israel and the Jewish people. President Trump will once again deliver the most secure border in our nation’s history and unleash the American economy, and he will bring peace through strength as commander in chief, standing with our allies and causing our enemies to fear us.”
Stephen Miller - Deputy Chief of Staff For Policy
The infamous White Nationalist sympathizer Stephen Miller—who the Southern Poverty Law Center labels an “extremist”—appears poised to take once again take on a significant role in a Trump White House.
Miller, 39, said during a Fox News interview in April that Trump, who famously wears slight variations of the same outfit—red or blue tie, a blue jacket, and white shirt—is the “most stylish president” in our lifetimes.
“The most stylish president and first lady in our lifetimes are Donald Trump and Melania Trump,” he insisted on Hannity. “Donald Trump is a style icon!”
Miller went on to reference Trump’s fashion during his years as the central figure on NBC’s The Apprentice—a show that featured Trump, then just a New York real estate mogul and socialite, largely dressed in typical business suits.
“People spent the next 10 years trying to dress like Donald Trump,” Miller said, without offering any evidence. “So, if anybody deserves a puff piece on their sense of style, it’s Donald Trump and the first lady.”
Lee Zeldin - Environmental Protection Agency
Before he made an unsuccessful gubernatorial run in New York, Lee Zeldin was a staunch defender of Trump in Congress. So much so, an NBC News analysis found that he spoke the most out of any congressional Republican in Trump’s defense during Trump’s impeachment hearings.
Zeldin, 44, hasn’t been in Congress since 2022, but he’s remained a strong backer of Trump—something the president-elect acknowledged himself this week, calling the Long Island native “a true fighter for America First policies.”
At the RNC in July, Zeldin told Fox News that Democrats had taken their anti-Trump and anti-GOP rhetoric too far. “There is a very extensive effort basically throwing everything that they can against President Trump outside of the ballot box to try to prevent him from taking office … It’s gone too far. It’s sick and it needs to end.”
Earlier in the year, Zeldin drew wide praise for a statement he made criticizing the criminal prosecutions of Trump and likening them to the persecution of Russia’s opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Zeldin wrote: “As the world reflects on the murder of Alexei Navalny at the hands of Putin, it’s worth remembering that Democrats are actively doing Biden’s bidding as they also try to imprison his chief political opponent, Donald Trump, remove him from the ballot, and ensure he dies in prison.”
Marco Rubio - Secretary of State
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has come a long way from being slapped with the moniker “Little Marco” by Trump during the 2016 GOP primaries.
Once considered to be on Trump’s short list of VP candidates this summer, Trump has called on the 53-year-old Miami native to be his secretary of state. The shift from foes to friends didn’t happen overnight for the pair of Republicans, but the two have had nothing but glowing remarks for each other in 2024.
“There is absolutely nothing dangerous or divisive about putting Americans first,” Rubio said at the RNC. “By giving voice to every day Americans, President Trump has not just changed our party—he has inspired a movement.”
