President Donald Trump's first Cabinet meeting went exactly as one would have expected. In a bizarre event that paralleled an elementary school Student of the Month ceremony featuring kind words from every kid in the class, Trump, of course, appeared as the star pupil.
Trump started Monday's meeting by taking jabs at the schoolyard bullies he said were responsible for obstructing his agenda, Democrats in Congress, and blamed the "ethics committee" for the unprecedently slow progress his made on filing his sub-Cabinet.
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As Bloomberg's White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs pointed out, the Office of Government Ethics deals with potential conflicts of interests for nominees, not an "ethics committee" like the president had said.
During the meeting, Trump decided to pass on the humble pie and instead touted how much he has accomplished since taking office. According to him, he's accomplished more than any other president — with few exceptions.
“I think we’ve been about as active as you can possibly be at a just about record-setting pace,” Trump insisted.
“Never has there been a president, with few exceptions — case of FDR, he had a major depression to handle — who has passed more legislation and who has done more things than what we’ve done,” Trump, referring to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, argued.
It was only fitting for members of his Cabinet to then go around the table praising the president and all his efforts for making America great again. "On behalf of the entire senior staff around you Mr. President we thank you for the opportunity and the blessing 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," Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said.
It’s the greatest privilege of my life to serve as vice president to a president who is keeping his word to the American people, and assembling a team that’s bringing real change, real prosperity, real strength back to our nation,” Vice President Mike Pence added.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who reportedly offered his resignation amid strains over the Russia investigation, told Trump it is "an honor to be here."
"My hat is off to you," Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who once called Trump "a cancer on conservatism" who "will lead the Republican Party to perdition," said to the president on Monday.
Trump obviously relished in the praise and used the meeting as a photo-op and an attempt to demonstrate that everything is running smoothly within the administration, despite reports to the contrary.
But Trump wasn't the only one who had a terrific meeting with his staff members on Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer D-N.Y., posted a video to his Twitter account to troll the president.
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