USA TODAY

The guy who brought you Paris Hilton washing a car while eating a cheeseburger will run the Department of Labor, President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday. The Labor secretary announcement of Andy Puzder,the fast food executive behind Carl’s Jr. and its sexualized burger ads, marked the latest appointment of Trump’s transition period.

If Trump believes America has a border problem, Puzder may disagree: A Carl’s Jr. ad last year depicted the U.S.-Mexico border as a volleyball net over which bikini-clad women from both nations competed over a Tex-Mex cheeseburger. No, seriously .

And a new poll on Thursday brought another announcement: Most Americans don’t think this transition is going well.

It’s For the Record , the politics newsletter from USA TODAY.

Pew: Majority of America not keen on this transition

A Pew Research Center poll put out Thursday showed that just 40% approve of Trump’s cabinet choices and other appointments so far. That’s at least 18 points lower than previous four president-elects, including Barack Obama, who saw a 71% approval rating during his transition in December 2008.

Forty-one percent said they approved of the job Trump’s done in explaining his plans and policies. That approval rating is also lower than the past four incoming presidents: The next lowest, George W. Bush, saw a 50% approval rating amid his transition.

One bright spot for Trump: Thirty-five percent of Americans said he would be a good or great president, the poll of 1,502 adults found, up 10 points from October. (Thirty-eight percent said Trump would be a “poor or terrible” leader, however.)

Yet 100% of Americans can surely agree on this: Trump will be the greatest president to also concurrently serve as a producer on NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice.”

You want fries with that Cabinet appointment?

Puzder, the next Labor secretary, will “save small businesses from the crushing burdens of unnecessary regulations,” Trump said Thursday.

Puzder is the CEO of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, home of the the 1,340-calorie “Monster Thickburger®.” He also served as an economic adviser on Trump’s campaign.

Despite Trump’s working class appeal, critics said the Puzder pick signals a preference for management over labor: Puzder is a vocal opponent of increasing the minimum wage, a policy shift that would affect many in the fast food industry. He’s also against expanded overtime for American workers.

Regardless, Puzder said he and Trump agree “that the right government policies can result in more jobs and better wages for the American worker."

And here’s who Trump has in his Cabinet so far.

Trump starts one-sided Twitter war with union leader who’s not on Twitter

Trump, the next leader of the free world, broke from his presidential prep to again lob insults on Twitter Thursday, this time taking aim at an Indiana union leader who criticized him.

“Chuck Jones, who is President of United Steelworkers 1999, has done a terrible job representing workers,” Trump said. “No wonder companies flee country!”

Jones represents workers from Carrier, the corporation Trump flew to last week to trumpet a $7 million incentive package that he said kept 1,100 jobs from leaving to Mexico. But Jones said that only 730 production jobs would remain in the U.S., leaving 550 union members out of work.

Trump “lied his a-- off,” Jones said. On Thursday, though, Trump tried blamed Jones for not saving more of the jobs that Trump himself bragged about saving. (This is all confusing, we know.)

“If United Steelworkers 1999 was any good, they would have kept those jobs in Indiana. Spend more time working-less time talking. Reduce dues,” Trump said.

Jones seemed unfazed by the tweets. He told the Indianapolis Star on Wednesday that his comments had drawn threats from Trump supporters. Some asked about his children, he said, and others wanted to know what kind of car he drove.

"First of all, that means I’m doing, and we’re doing, as labor representatives, the best we can for the people to give them a living wage and good benefits," Jones said. "No, what he says, that don’t bother me."

Around the transition

Trump could profit big league from foreign officials, and that would violate the Constitution ( USA TODAY )

) Michigan elector receives death threats over Trump ( USA TODAY )

) Megyn Kelly said she had ‘high hopes’ for Trump at an event, and then she got booed ( USA TODAY )

) A month after a congressional election, one N.J. Democrat still won’t concede ( Asbury Park Press )

No surprise here: Kid Rock started his own line of Trump merchandise