Trump calls ex-cabinet members 'weak and pathetic,' 'incompetent' while revealing appointments he regrets

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Trump reflects on cabinet mistakes from his first term: 'People were the problem

Former President Donald Trump sits down with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo for part one of an exclusive interview, reflecting on his first term in office and whether he will appear on the GOP primary debate stage.

Former President Donald Trump revealed a number of key cabinet members he regrets choosing for his administration in retrospect, calling some "weak and pathetic" and others "incompetent" during an exclusive interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Sunday.

"Is there anything that you could look back on in '16 that you think maybe you want to do differently this time around?" Bartiromo asked.

"The mistake would be people. I mean, I wouldn't have put a guy like Bill Barr. He was weak and pathetic," Trump responded. 

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Former U.S. President Donald J. Trump at a rally in Arizona. (Brandon Bell)

"I wouldn't have put Jeff Sessions, and there are some people that I wouldn't have put in. You know, most people were good, but I had some people we had [Dr. Mark] Esper. I didn't like him. He was incompetent. I thought we had other people I didn't like."

"Why did you put them in the job, then?" Bartiromo followed.

"Because every president puts somebody in and you think they're good [at first]," he answered in part.

Trump has been at odds with several of his former cabinet members, including Barr, who warned of a "horror show" to come if the 2024 hopeful were to assume office again.

"He will deliver chaos, and if anything lead to a backlash that will set his policies much further back than they otherwise would be," Barr said, arguing that Trump is the worst person to fulfill his pledged policies. 

TRUMP SPARS WITH ESPER OVER CLAIMS THAT THE FORMER PRESIDENT WANTED TO SHOOT PROTESTERS

Mark Esper, who served as Trump's secretary of defense from 2019 until he was fired in November 2020, told CNN's Jake Tapper that Trump, if elected president in 2024, could never be trusted with the nation’s secrets again. (Greg Nash-Pool)

Esper, who served as defense secretary for the Trump administration from 2019 to 2020, branded the former president as a threat to democracy and national security and, at times, sparred with him over claims that Trump asked if protesters could be shot outside the White House as unrest unfolded in the streets following George Floyd's death in 2020.

Trump, later defending himself against the claim, labeled it a "complete lie" in a statement to "60 Minutes," adding that ten witnesses would back him up.

Sessions also blasted Trump's "juvenile insults" against him after he resigned as the former president's attorney general, saying his "honor and integrity" were more important.

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Speaking to Bartiromo during their "Sunday Morning Futures" exclusive, Trump said despite his wishes to select some cabinet members differently, most criticism for the decisions he made while running in 2016 were that he should adopt a "softer" approach.

"I was under siege by people that were very dishonest," he said, pushing back against the notion. "If I was soft, I wouldn't be talking to you right now, believe me. I wouldn't have been able to finish out one of the most successful terms as president to a point where it was so successful that I'm leading by 50 points right now. I mean, that wouldn't have happened."

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White sitting down with the "Sunday Morning Futures" anchor, he discussed a number of other pressing issues such as bureaucratic corruption, the ever-growing field of GOP candidates, whether he will appear on the GOP primary debate stage in the coming weeks and the state of Biden's economy.

Fox News' Brianna Herlihy and Paul Best contributed to this report.