WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump praised Elon Musk and other members of his new administration Thursday morning after ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

During an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer shortly after the bell, Trump described Musk, whom he has named to co-head the new Department of Government Efficiency, as a “really good guy.”

“I think his stock has done pretty well,” Trump said of Musk, whose company Tesla is publicly traded on the stock market. Musk, 53, is the richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of over $400 billion.

The former president continued to praise the stock market’s performance in recent months, saying that “all stocks have performed well since the election.”

Trump also praised hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, whom he appointed to head the Treasury Department.

“One of the things I liked about Scott is that he said, long before I knew who he was, that the market only does well … because they believe Trump will win,” Trump agreed Cramer. “So we made Scott treasury secretary.”

Neither Musk nor Bessent appeared on the stock exchange with Trump on Thursday.

Trump rang the opening bell of trading markets on Thursday to celebrate the announcement that he had been named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. The former president stood in front of a banner with his “Time Person of the Year” cover on the front, waving and smiling at the crowd of business leaders as they chanted “USA.”

Trump was also named Person of the Year in 2016 after winning his first bid for the White House.

As he prepares for his next term, Trump told Cramer that major business leaders, including Musk, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, have all sought a meeting with him.

“I know people are coming from my ears so much,” Trump said of a few CEOs. Trump said he has already met with Zuckerberg and plans to speak with Bezos next week.

The president-elect brought an entourage to the stock exchange, including Vice President-elect JD Vance, his wife Melania Trump and his two daughters Ivanka and Tiffany, and stood alongside NYSE President Lynn Martin.

I’ve always said that the stock market is very – all in all, you know, all together – very important to me,” Trump said. “It is an honor to be on the New York Stock Exchange.”

Contributor: Zac Anderson, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange