People seeking employment at RNC asked whether they believe the 2020 election was stolen

By Alayna Treene and Daniel Strauss, CNN

(CNN) — People seeking employment at the Republican National Committee have been asked in recent job interviews whether they believe the 2020 election was stolen, according to two sources familiar with the questioning.

Over the past few weeks, Trump advisers have asked those seeking employment at the RNC about their views of fraud during the 2020 election, with the question serving as an apparent litmus test for hiring, the sources said.

Use of the question comes after the Trump campaign has effectively merged its operations with the RNC.

The Washington Post first reported the substance of the interview questions.

A key focus for the Trump campaign, and newly elected leadership at the RNC, ahead of the 2024 election is election fraud. Much of that focus stems from former President Donald Trump’s dissatisfaction with how the RNC handled claims of election fraud around the 2020 election, multiple sources familiar with the matter said. There is no evidence of widespread election fraud in the last presidential contest.

“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. 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,” RNC spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez told CNN.

Trump advisers have also told potential new hires that they should plan to move to West Palm Beach, Florida, where Trump’s campaign is centered, the sources said.

The new hiring questions come as Trump continues to falsely claim, both publicly and privately, that the 2020 election was rife with fraud, and suggest that President Joe Biden stole the election from him — a rallying cry that has united many GOP voters around him.

Trump’s relationship with former RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel largely fractured over the former president’s dissatisfaction with how she handled alleged claims of fraud.

Shortly after former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley exited the Republican primary, and effectively made Trump the GOP presidential nominee, two Trump allies glided to roles at the top of RNC leadership.

Trump’s endorsed candidates – North Carolina GOP chairman Michael Whatley and his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump – were swiftly elected to serve as the organization’s new chair and co-chair, respectively, at the RNC’s spring meeting in Houston, Texas.

Trump also installed two of his senior advisers, Chris LaCivita and James Blair, to serve in senior positions at the RNC. LaCivita took on the role of the committee’s chief operating officer, while Blair was selected to help drive the RNC’s political strategy, sources familiar with the plans told CNN. Both will continue in their roles as advisers to Trump’s 2024 campaign.

In a recent interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” McDaniel said Trump “absolutely wanted me to move aside and wanted Michael Whatley and Lara Trump to come in.”

McDaniel added that while she thinks there are still concerns with the security of elections in the United States, Biden won the 2020 election “fair and square.” (McDaniel, who made the comments after being announced as a paid NBC News political analyst, was ousted from the network on Tuesday after backlash from the network’s top television anchors to her role in subverting the 2020 election and attacks on the press.)

While chairwoman of the RNC, McDaniel refused to acknowledge that Biden won the 2020 election. She also was involved in a phone call in 2020 to pressure Michigan county officials not to certify the vote from the Detroit area, where Biden had a commanding lead.

Trump advisers have since described the current relationship between the campaign and the RNC as “a symbiotic” one, where they will operate largely as one and the same.

CLARIFICATION: This story and headline have been updated to reflect that interview questions regarding the 2020 election apply to those who were reapplying for positions with the RNC.

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