Report: RNC Job Interviews Include Startling Question

Republican National Committee employees let go in a "bloodbath" earlier this month are being allowed to reapply for their jobs—and insiders say they've been startled by one of the interview questions. Sources tell the Washington Post and the New York Times that Trump advisers conducting the interviews have asked: "Do you think the 2020 election was stolen?" The question about Trump's false claim is seen as a "litmus test" for loyalty to the former president, the Post notes.

• RNC spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez did not deny the question had been asked. "Candidates who worked on the front line in battleground states or are currently in states where fraud allegations have been prevalent were asked about their work experience," she said in a statement. "We want experienced staff with meaningful views on how elections are won and lost and real experience-based opinions about what happens in the trenches."

• Insiders tell the Post the question was "open-ended," though one former RNC employee says: "But if you say the election wasn't stolen, do you really think you're going to get hired?" The Times' sources say most of the applicants told interviewers there were some irregularities and changes to procedures in 2020 that were cause for concern.
• The Trump campaign "has effectively merged its operations with the RNC," CNN reports, and potential hires were told they might have to move to West Palm Beach, Florida, where the campaign is based.
• "Donald Trump is demanding fealty to his extreme, antidemocratic beliefs to be part of his Republican Party," Biden campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa said in a statement.
• Trump installed loyal supporter Michael Whatley and daughter-in-law Lara Trump as co-chairs of the RNC earlier this month. On Tuesday, Lara Trump told NBC News that the party is "past" litigating the 2020 election. "The past is the past, and unfortunately, we had to learn a couple of hard lessons in 2020," she said. "Believe me, we are applying them all across this country in every single state, and we want to ensure that, indeed, every single legal vote is counted."

(More Republican National Committee stories.)