March 4th 2020

By Emily Singer

American Independent Foundation

The Trump administration is forcing job candidates for political appointments to praise Trump in their applications, with one question on a new questionnaire asking what part of his campaign message “most appealed” to them and why, CNN reported Tuesday.

The news that job applicants must demonstrate loyalty to Trump and his message comes as the Trump administration is working to purge staffers deemed not sufficiently loyal.

Already, Trump has ousted officials — including Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, former U.S. ambassador to the EU Gordan Sondland, and top Pentagon policy official John Rood — who questioned his scheme to withhold military aid to Ukraine in order to push the country to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.

The Associated Press reported that Trump’s purge is still ongoing, as Trump on Tuesday withdrew the nomination of a Pentagon official who questioned his military aid freeze to Ukraine.

CNN reported that the new question asking job applicants to praise Trump was the brainchild of White House staffer John McEntee. McEntee was originally fired from his job as Trump’s personal assistant in March 2018 and marched off White House grounds after he was unable to pass a background check thanks in part to an online gambling habit.

But Trump brought McEntee back in February to be the head of White House personnel, where he’s helped root out allegedly disloyal staffers.

Since his return, McEntee hired James Bacon, a 23-year-old college senior from George Washington University to be one of his top aides in the Presidential Personnel Office, helping carry out the loyalty demand of staff.

Bacon’s grandmother assured Business Insider that he is fit for the role, despite his age.

“James is interested in the political process. He just, by chance, got into politics,” she said. “He’s not some dumb kid who Trump put in there.”

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