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Donald Trump’s Cabinet heaps praise on President at first meeting

"We've been about as active as you can possibly be and at a just about record pace."

"We've been about as active as you can possibly be and at a just about record pace." Photo: Getty

They came to praise President Donald Trump, not focus on the controversies engulfing him.

One by one, Mr Trump’s Cabinet members at the first formal gathering of his most senior officials at the White House on Monday heaped praise on the President who reportedly sat beaming and soaking it all.

The praise and adulation were a stark contrast with the storm swirling around the President who is fighting battles on different fronts, including dual investigations into possible ties between his election campaign and Russian meddling in the race.

For Mr Trump, the meeting was a welcome rendering of what he feels are major accomplishments ignored by his detractors, even though major legislative achievements have eluded him thus far.

And no one was more congratulatory than White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, a man frequently the target of criticism from long-time Trump advisers and often seen as teetering on the brink of being sacked.

“On behalf of the entire senior staff around you, Mr President, we thank you for the honour and the blessing that you’ve given us to serve your agenda and the American people and we’re continuing to work very hard every day to accomplish those goals,” Mr Priebus told the meeting.

Mr Trump used the meeting to try to show a sense of momentum for his agenda after weeks of being engulfed in controversy over his May 9 firing of FBI Director James Comey, who was heading the Russia investigation.

“We’ve been about as active as you can possibly be and at a just about record pace,” Mr Trump said.

“In just a very short time we are seeing amazing results. People are surprised. It’s kicking in very fast.”

But Mr Priebus was not alone in his praise for his leader.

Vice-President Mike Pence:

“It is the greatest privilege of my life to serve as vice president. The president is keeping his word to the American people.”

Attorney-General Jeff Sessions said on behalf of law enforcement officers:

“I’m are so thrilled that we have a new idea that we’re going to support them.”

Energy Secretary Rick Perry gave his “hats off” to Mr Trump for taking a stand against the Paris climate accord.

“You [Mr Trump] are sending a clear message around the world.”

Labor secretary Alexander Acosta:

“Thank you [Mr Trump] for your commitment to the American workers.”

UN Ambassador for the United States, Nikki Haley:

“People know what the United States is for, they know what we’re against, and they see us leading across the board.”

White House budget director Mick Mulvaney:

“With your direction we were able to focus on the forgotten man and woman.”

Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price:

“I can’t thank you enough for the privileges you’ve given me.”

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao:

“I want to thank you for getting this country moving again and also working again,”

Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin:

“Thank you Mr President for the great honour of travelling with you around the country for the last year, and an even greater honour to be here serving in your cabinet.”

Meeting sparks Democrats’ parody

The meeting was quickly panned by US media as “bizarre” and got its own life on social media, with some drawing similarities between the Cabinet meeting and an episode of The Apprentice in which contestants fight for their lives.

The Senate’s top Democrat Chuck Schumer also shared a video of the meeting in which he and staff members parodied the Trump Cabinet meeting.

“You have great hair,” one staffer is heard saying in the video. “Nobody has better hair than you.”

Watch Chuck Schumer’s parody

– with AP

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