Ignatius on Admin Picks: ‘Trump Likes a Tough Guy’

IGNATIUS: "He’s been doing deals in Saudi Arabia and UAE for many years. They regard him as a friend. I do think that that makes it complicated for him as secretary of state to do what’s in recent years been a central part of that job, which is to work the Israeli-Palestinian negotiating issue. The President-elect has said that he wants to do that through the White House, that he’s personally interested. I think that’s a complicated issue. In this pick, I see, Joe, one interesting consistent theme. Trump likes a tough guy. This is the first business person we’ve had as secretary of state in generations. Typically we have lawyers or we have academics in that role. We have not had business people going back, I think, to the time of Allen Dulles, John Foster Dulles at state. It does mark something of a break. Trump, in all of these key decisions, has got tough guys, proven deal makers. Clearly he wants a transactional presidency.”