Donald Trump’s IMBD page is longer than his political resume. Beyond his hosting gig on The Apprentice, the 45th and soon to be 47th president has made appearances on Sex and the City, Saturday Night Live, the Nanny, and more. So it’s perhaps unsurprising that his incoming administration is shaping up to feature a cohort with on-screen experience.
Looking back at the first Trump presidency, there was a smattering of people with reality TV credits, many of which occurred after their exits from Washington. Omarosa Manigault Newman was on The Apprentice, Celebrity Big Brother, and House of Villains, where reality TV royalty Tiffany “New York” Pollard told her, “I sleep better at night knowing you’re not in the White House.” And who can forget Sean Spicer’s run on Dancing With the Stars? The former press secretary donned a neon green ruffled shirt in the season premiere and later jived to “Monster Mash.”
Among the current nominees for Trump’s cabinet is a former roommate on The Real World, a WWE legend, and the spouse of an HBO actress. Here’s a look at the TV pedigree of our country’s future leadership.
Sean Duffy
Nominee for Secretary of Transportation
Like some of his other fellow nominees, the former Wisconsin congressman was a member of the Fox family, appearing on Fox News as a contributor and co-hosting The Bottom Line on Fox Business. However, he got his start on the silver screen as a reality star, appearing on MTV’s The Real World: Boston, Road Rules: All Stars, and Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Seasons. Duffy even met his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy—now host of Fox Noticias and co-host on Fox & Friends Weekend–during their stint on All Stars.
They need to teach the infamous Sean Duffy v. Genesis fight from The Real World Boston in the schools pic.twitter.com/0ElFSRmwvi
— James Crugnale (@jamescrugnale) November 18, 2024
Pete Hegseth
Nominee for Secretary of Defense
Military veteran Hegseth is another member of the Fox News contributor circle, and he’s also shared the “Fox & Friends” stage with Campos-Duffy. The co-host made news of his own in 2015 when an axe-throwing segment went horribly awry. Missing the target completely, Hegseth’s hatchet instead hit a US Army master sergeant, who later sued the anchor for the incident. According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit was discontinued in 2019.
here’s pete hegseth, fox news host and trump’s pick for secretary of defense, nearly killing a drummer with an axe on live TV pic.twitter.com/b1RHmVz6vZ https://t.co/qkpekjqnIQ
— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) November 13, 2024
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services
While there’s plenty of Kennedy-related media floating around the ether, RFK Jr.’s personal tie to television comes through his wife, Cheryl Hines. She played Larry David’s spouse—and later Ted Danza’s—on the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm for 12 seasons. What does the notoriously unfiltered David have to say about his co-star’s brain-worm-having, dead-bear-dumping, definitely-not-dog-eating spouse? “Yes love and support, but I’m not ‘supporting’ him,” David wrote in a 2023 text to the New York Times.
Linda McMahon
Nominee for Secretary of Education
We have to assume Donald Trump was the first president in history to clothesline a rival during Monday Night Raw. (Hey, I don’t know what William Howard Taft was up to back in the day). Now we’re slated to have our first education secretary to get a tombstone piledriver from the current mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. McMahon, the former CEO of WWE, was a fixture in the ring’s soap opera drama, from slapping her daughter to taking a Stone Cold Stunner. If you’re unfamiliar with that move, it’s time to open the schools!
Only in America 🇺🇸
Kane: Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee
Linda McMahon: US Secretary of Educationpic.twitter.com/rTwcLzQvQb— Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) November 21, 2024
Mehmet Oz
Nominee for administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Before his crudités gaffe during the 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race, Oz was the host of The Dr. Oz Show and Oprah’s go-to on-air physician. His talk show lasted 13 seasons, clinching nine Daytime Emmy Awards along the way. The TV doctor also served as a guest host on Jeopardy! in 2021, sparking a petition for his removal due to allegations of spreading medical misinformation during the Covid pandemic.