Only the best boot-lickers need apply:
Job-seekers hoping to join the new Trump administration are facing a series of intense loyalty tests, with White House screening teams fanning out to government agencies to check for “Make America Great Again” bona fides and carefully parsing applicants’ politics and social media posts.
President Donald Trump has long said he believes the biggest mistake he made during his first term was hiring what he considered to be the wrong kinds of people. Now, aides are working aggressively to ensure the government is filled only with loyalists.
Negative social media posts have been enough to derail applications. Those seeking jobs have been told they will have to prove their “enthusiasm” to enact Trump’s agenda and have been asked when their moment of “MAGA revelation” occurred. One federal employee said they briefly considered buying Trump’s crypto meme coin in case the president’s team asked about their voting record.
I wonder if they looked at this?
Donald Trump is a con artist — and he cannot be our nominee. #NeverTrump https://t.co/3ZYQZraCfNhttps://t.co/8wm9ToY7El
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 27, 2016
I have to say that this made me laugh out loud:
The intense screening has led some federal workers to question whether Trump’s team cares more about loyalty than competence. There is concern that his team is ousting foreign policy and national security diplomats and others who could offer the administration expertise and institutional knowledge at a time of conflict worldwide.
Gee, ya think? Is there anyone who believes that fervent MAGA true believers are the smartest and most experienced people America can find?
An application form on the Trump transition website, for instance, asks candidates, “What part of President Trump’s campaign message is most appealing to you and why?” according to a link obtained by The Associated Press.
It also asks how they had supported Trump in the 2024 election — with choices including volunteering, fundraising, door-knocking and making phone calls — and to submit a list of their social media handles.
One official said he and several colleagues from various agencies had been told that even if they passed the initial vetting process to be admitted into the applicant pool, they would still need to prove their bona fides and convince interviewers of their “enthusiasm” to put in place Trump’s policies, including by providing references from people whose loyalty had already been established.
This official said one colleague who made it to the interview stage was asked when that person’s moment of “MAGA revelation” had occurred.
And look who’s doing the vetting? Shades of the Imperial Life In The Emerald City.
I guess this is what a MAGA meritocracy looks like.