It's official: Rick Perry has been named as President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Energy Secretary.
Here in Texas, we're well familiar with the former governor's politics and policies. What he might do or not do as the head of the U.S. Department of Energy is for other people to analyze (you know, people who don't work for an entertainment website). But if you're wondering what Perry has been up to outside of politics lately, you might be surprised at how much it involved kick-stepping.
He danced with the stars ... and his daughter
When it comes to mainstream America, Perry's appearance on the reality show Dancing With the Stars might be his biggest claim to fame over the last year. He didn't last long -- he was eliminated in the show's third episode, and he started at the bottom of the pack -- but he made some GIFable impressions.
Even though he didn't come close to winning the show, he said he took the job not for himself, but for his daughter. "I got to thinking about my daughter getting married in October and wouldn't it be cool if her dad could actually dance and not embarrass her at the father-daughter dance at the wedding," he said. When asked about the show's $125,000 minimum payment for celebrity dancers, Perry said he would "contribute to my daughter's wedding and gladly, generously."
He was a DJ for Vanilla Ice
Another DWTS moment, but this one came long after the politician's elimination. Perry returned for the show's season finale in November to act as fellow Texan Vanilla Ice's DJ during a performance of "Ice Ice Baby." (I mean "act" literally, as I doubt he was actually doing anything with those turntables.) Sporting a backwards cap and a pair of headphones around his neck, Perry added just one more small piece to the puzzle of how utterly bizarre 2016 has been.
When asked by Erin Andrews whether performing with Vanilla Ice or meeting with Donald Trump was more surreal, Perry answered, "Being with Vanilla Ice is always No. 1!"
He drove his dream car from California to Texas
After dropping out of the presidential race way back in 2015 (remember how, even back then, the political race seemed to be going on forever?), Perry probably had a lot of soul searching to do. So he drove back to Texas in what MySanAntonio.com called his "dream car," a 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle Super Sport.
He's partial to Vienna sausages and popcorn as snacks
There's not much more to say about that. It's just a fun fact that you can find among the "25 things you need to know about Rick Perry" that The Dallas Morning News published in 2015. Another fun fact: He was a yell leader at Texas A&M.
He's a great "Bad Lip Reading" subject
Bad Lip Reading is pretty great. But while many of their most popular videos dub nonsense over popular movies (or NFL players) they also occasionally poke fun at politicians. Perry has been a victim twice, once in a general mashup of clips and once in a dub of his infamous "Strong" ad.
He currently lives in Round Top, 75 miles east of Austin
There, he's said to drink Shiners and smoke cigars, and he claims to have "the best sunset from our front porch that you could ever imagine."
