by GLORIA CHRISTIE
One of Donald Trump’s cabinet members does a passable impersonation of Inspector Clouseau of the Pink Panther movie fame. He likes to drag his Secret Service detail on 40-mile bike rides and just took up boxing. Plus, he is nearly a newlywed, married Scottish movie actor Louise Linton in 2017, according to NBC News.
Steven Mnuchin may be the most unusual member of the Trump team. According to The New York Times:
‘The $2.2 trillion government rescue — which delivered cash to individuals, small businesses and giant companies — was a crucial victory for Mr. Trump, who was facing withering attacks for his failures to respond to the fast-spreading coronavirus.’
Afterward, Mr. Trump hailed Mr. Mnuchin as a “great” Treasury secretary and “fantastic guy.”
Trump yelled at Mnuchin, pointed at him, and added:
‘I never should have signed it. You’re to blame.’
Mr. Mnuchin is the rare cabinet secretary who does not seem to have strong political beliefs. White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow said:
‘I don’t know if Steve is a Republican or Democrat. I do know he’s smart and a hard worker.’
Although Trump thinks Mnuchin is a Democratic, he is wrong. His Treasury Secretary has always been a registered Republican.
At Yale, he was enamored by the “objectivist” writer Ayn Rand.
Mnuchin’s Hollywood partner Brett Ratner produced movies such as The Lego Batman Movie. He said he was surprised by Mnuchin’s interest in politics:
‘I nearly fell out of my chair.’
While many pundits believed that Secretary Hillary Clinton would win in 2016, Mnuchin called the election. He compared Trump’s rally attendees to going with “Mick Jagger” to one of the musician’s concerts, which he has done.
He decided to join the candidate’s fledgling cabinet and bought a $12.6 million nine-bedroom mansion in Washington, D.C. What did the “flamboyant and dour” candidate and Mnuchin share? They both hang on “the deal,” especially real estate deals, and they are related to Scottish women.
The two men also had self-made fathers. Mnuchin drove a red Porsche with “custom plaid upholstery.”
He was not the new president’s first choice. That was the JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon.
The Treasury secretary prepared for the job interview, including his own personal wealth, $400 million, but basically, he was second-tier. His job at the White House got off to a rocky beginning. Yet, Mnuchin and Trump became fast allies after the president said the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia included some “very fine people.”’
By the end of year one in the Trump presidency, Mnuchin’s $1.5 trillion tax cut package became POTUS’ “signature legislative achievement.”
The secretary’s stepmother, who came into his life when he was a toddler, went to great lengths to tell people she was not his biological mother. When she reluctantly went to his wedding, she faked a hurt arm so that she could get out of shaking Trump’s hands.
As for Mnuchin’s attitude toward Black people, his nephew said:
‘[Mnuchin was responsible for years of] marginalization, persecution and stereotyping of black people in the United States. [His actions] cannot and will never be defensible. It’s a very complicated relationship. There’s definitely some tension.’
His style has been to give his opinion when it is asked even if Trump will not like it. Still, he always steps in line and follows orders.
He did not see the coronavirus as more than a “minor threat” to the economy at first. Then, Mnuchin told Kudlow:
‘There’s big trouble coming.’
Kudlow agreed. Trump said:
‘Just stay calm. It will go away.’
Bipartisan Report for more