Anderson Cooper Taunts Trump With 4 Blistering Questions About His 'Best People'

President Donald Trump repeatedly vowed during the 2016 presidential campaign that he’d only hire “the best people in the world” for his administration. Now, with many of his “best people’ ousted from the Cabinet and other high-level positions, CNN’s Anderson Cooper is wondering what happened to that pledge.

“If the president hires only the best people, why aren’t they still on the job?” Cooper asked on Tuesday night. “Why have so many left the administration? Why are others serving under ethical clouds? Why are some facing so much difficulty getting confirmed?”

Cooper’s comments came amid allegations regarding the conduct of Dr. Ronny Jackson, Trump’s physician and nominee to head the Department of Veterans Affairs. Jackson’s confirmation hearings have been postponed while the allegations are investigated.

More than three-dozen high-level officials have left or been fired from the Trump administration, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster. McMaster had replaced Michael Flynn, who resigned just weeks into the administration after reports emerged that he had met with Russian officials to discuss sanctions before the inauguration. Flynn has since pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

“The supposedly best people have been hired and fired at a brutal clip,” Cooper said. “Rarely has the phrase ‘serving at the pleasure of the president’ been taken quite so literally.”