Policy experts are so stunned by Donald Trump's candidacy they picked a rock musician and reality TV star as potential members of his cabinet

NBC

As the march toward the November presidential general election continues, many presume Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have all but clinched their parties' respective nominations.

With that in mind, Whiteboard Advisors, an education policy-consulting group, asked reputable policy leaders the following question:

"If she/he is elected President, who will Hillary Clinton's/Donald Trump's Secretary of Education be?"

For Donald Trump, some of the experts came back with shocking picks. Notably, they mentioned Ted Nugent, a musician and vocal supporter of the NRA, and Omarosa Manigault, a reality show personality infamous with fans of The Apprentice, Trump's reality series, during which he coined his famous catchphrase, "You're fired."

"I think nobody has any idea," Andy Rotherham, senior advisor at Whiteboard Advisors, told Business Insider. "I suspect the survey respondents are in a state of disbelief that they are even being asked this question."

The answers were particularly surprising as Whiteboard posed the question to education policy experts, not an uniformed group. Unfortunately, Rotherham couldn't disclose the identify of WhiteBoard's "insiders," as they're referred to, because of a confidentiality agreement.

Still, he explained that the insider group is comprised of 50 to 75 current and former White House, Department of Education, and congressional staff members, as well as governors. There's also a pretty even split along party lines.

For Clinton, Linda Darling-Hammond, an emeritus professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, was the top pick. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Chris Edley, a former dean of the Berkeley School of Law and cofounder of the Opportunity Institute, were other contenders.

For Trump, former presidential candidate Ben Carson is at the top of the list. Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development , and Tony Bennett, Florida's former education commissioner, were other higher-ranking choices.

Whiteboard plans to poll the insiders on the same question in the fall.

NBC

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