--- description: President-elect Donald Trump is facing backlash for wanting his cabinet picks to look a certain way, according to spokespersons. title: Donald Trump Wants a Certain ‘Look’ in His Cabinet image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt526b79115fe873bc/6988b3cf5f570f469ab23a06/donald-trump-looks-administration.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Donald Trump](/tag/donald-trump/) ## Donald Trump Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Donald Trump Wants a Certain ‘Look’ in His Cabinet by [Madeline Farber](/author/madeline-farber/) ## Madeline Farber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 22, 2016 3:45 PM CUT  Donald Trump talks to members of the media at Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Dec. 21, 2016. Donald Trump talks to members of the media at Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Dec. 21, 2016.Carlos Barria—Reuters by [Madeline Farber](/author/madeline-farber/) ## Madeline Farber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 22, 2016 3:45 PM CUT If you want to be in Donald Trump’s [cabinet](http://time.com/4584755/donald-trump-cabinet-tom-price-health-human-services-obamacare/ "undefined"), you have to look the part. “Presentation is very important because you’re representing America not only on the national stage but also the international stage, depending on the position,” Jason Miller, a Trump transition spokesman, first told the [_Washington Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/donald-trump-is-holding-a-government-casting-call-hes-seeking-the-look/2016/12/21/703ae8a4-c795-11e6-bf4b-2c064d32a4bf%5Fstory.html "undefined"). The President-elect is a “master brander,” including but not limited to his background in reality television—so it was “probably inevitable that he would be looking beyond their résumés for a certain aesthetic,” the _Post_ reports. For instance, Trump reportedly turned down former United Nations ambassador John R. Bolton for secretary of state because of his mustache, according to the _Post_. “Donald was not going to like that mustache,” one associate, who requested anonymity, told the _Post_. “I can’t think of anyone that’s really close to Donald that has a beard that he likes.” Chris Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax Media and a longtime friend of Trump, might agree. “He likes people who present themselves very well, and he’s very impressed when somebody has a background of being good on television because he thinks it’s a very important medium for public policy,” Chris Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax Media and a longtime friend of Trump, told the _Post_. However, critics say [Trump’s](http://time.com/4602046/seth-meyers-on-trump-cabinet/ "undefined") seemingly skin-deep standards are worrisome in the Oval Office. Already, his personnel choices show signs of being “cast for the TV show of his administration,” Bob Killian, founder of a branding agency based in Chicago, first told the _Post_. “They are all perfectly coifed people who look like they belong on a set.” However, Trump spokesman Miller insisted that some qualifications go beyond aesthetic: “People who are being selected for these key positions need to be able to hold their own, need to be doers and not wallflowers, and need to convey a clear sense of purpose and commitment,” he said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4616459/donald-trump-cabinet-aesthetic/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4616459/donald-trump-cabinet-aesthetic/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Wants a Certain ‘Look’ in His Cabinet","datePublished":"2016-12-22T15:45:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:26:34.824Z","description":"Critics say his choices have been \"cast for the TV show of his administration\"","url":"https://time.com/4616459/donald-trump-cabinet-aesthetic/","keywords":["Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt526b79115fe873bc/6988b3cf5f570f469ab23a06/donald-trump-looks-administration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Madeline Farber","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/madeline-farber/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt526b79115fe873bc/6988b3cf5f570f469ab23a06/donald-trump-looks-administration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. President-elect Donald Trump talks to members of the media at Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida","caption":"U.S. President-elect Donald Trump talks to members of the media at Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida","creditText":"Carlos Barria—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4616459/donald-trump-cabinet-aesthetic/","name":"Donald Trump Wants a Certain ‘Look’ in His Cabinet"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME 2016 Person of the Year: Donald Trump","description":"The 2016 Person of the Year is Donald Trump, the President of the divided states of America.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Q0tBuF3M/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-12-07T12:09:51.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Q0tBuF3M.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4616459/donald-trump-cabinet-aesthetic/","duration":"PT4M12S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4616459/donald-trump-cabinet-aesthetic/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```