'Kiss of death?' CNN expert analyzes Trump's Cabinet meeting interaction with Hegseth
April 30, 2025
President Donald Trump held another cabinet meeting Wednesday, and CNN's Mark Preston tried to measure his support for embattled defense secretary Pete Hegseth.
The president opened the meeting with complaints about the judiciary blocking some of his administration's deportations, and then he called on Hegseth and other agency heads, who praised Trump's actions and then provided updates on their own activity.
"We're getting used to this, he does this pretty often," said Preston, vice president of political and special events programming for CNN. "He likes to go around and he likes to have his cabinet secretaries heap praise upon him, and that's certainly what we saw right there, specifically on a day where there's been nothing but bad news."
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The president cast blame during the meeting on his predecessor Joe Biden for a report showing the U.S. economy had contracted slightly in the first quarter, echoing comments he made on social media, and Preston noted the first official he called on to speak was his defense secretary, whom he called his "least controversial person."
"You know in many ways, I think that was some would say that's the kiss of death," Preston said. "I wouldn't say so. I think that Trump likes Pete Hegseth, and Pete Hegseth is in a much better position today than he was a few days ago."
The first topic Trump touched on was immigration, an issue he still believes has the strongest public support, but where his approval has been sliding.
"He certainly hasn't looked at the new poll numbers from CNN or any of the other news organizations that shows that this signature issue, he is now underwater," Preston said. "He's at like 40 [percent], 52 percent unfavorable right now."
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