Hillary Clinton gets standing ovation at Trump luncheon

After perhaps the most bruising presidential campaign in American history, one in which President Donald Trump labeled his opponent “crooked” and a “nasty woman,” the newly sworn-in commander in chief asked those in attendance at his inaugural luncheon on Friday to give Hillary Clinton a standing ovation.

“I was very honored — very, very honored — when I heard that President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Clinton was coming today and I think it’s appropriate to say and I’d like you to stand up. I’d like you to stand up,” he said, prompting a standing ovation for his 2016 rival.


“And honestly, there's nothing more I can say because I have a lot of respect for those two people, so thank you all for being here,” Trump added after a roughly 30-second standing ovation at the congressional luncheon in the Capitol building’s Statuary Hall.

Trump also chided Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) over the deliberate pace with which the incoming Cabinet secretaries have been confirmed. Many of Trump’s nominees, including Education Secretary-designate Betsy DeVos, Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Price and Treasury Secretary-designate Steve Mnuchin, have been the subject of pointed questions from Senate Democrats during confirmation hearings, and Schumer said Friday that his caucus will not be a rubber stamp for Trump’s Cabinet.

“Even Chuck likes Gen. Mattis and Gen. Kelly,” Trump said, referring to James Mattis and John Kelly, retired generals whom the president has nominated to be his secretaries of defense and homeland security, respectively. “And we had a very interesting talk. Kiddingly, he thinks we're doing great at the Cabinet level but we're going to do just fine. We're going to do just fine.”

“We’ll be working very, very hard. Our Cabinet’s lined up and ready. I know eventually, Chuck’s going to approve them, I’m sure,” Trump said later, eliciting laughter from the room. “I really believe that. And we're all dealing together. We all want the same thing. We’re all good people, whether you're a Republican or Democrat, doesn't make any difference, we're going to get along.”