Was the 2020 presidential election stolen? Republican job interviews include an unusual question.

Potential employees discuss a new litmus test for being hired by the Republican Party.

People applying for a job at the Republican National Committee (RNC) are asked during job interviews whether they believe the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

Thus, the unsubstantiated claim becomes a kind of litmus test for employment.

In recent days, Trump’s advisers have asked several staffers who worked in key states in the 2024 election about their views on the last presidential election.

That’s according to people who spoke to The Washington Post on condition of anonymity to describe private interviews and discussions.

The interviews have largely been carried out virtually, as the potential future employees are based in important swing states.

“Was the 2020 election stolen?” recalled one potential hire being asked in a room with two of Trump’s top advisers.

The question of the 2020 election has surprised some of the potential employees, who perceived it as challenging their loyalty to Trump. They also thought it was an unusual question in a job interview, according to people familiar with the content of the interviews.

Sharp reaction from Biden spokeswoman

A group of senior Trump advisers have been in the RNC building for the past few days to conduct the interviews. The questions about the 2020 election were open, two people familiar with the questions said.

– But if you say that the election was not stolen, do you really think that you will be employed? asked a former RNC staffer.

– Candidates who worked on the front line in the swing states or are currently in states where allegations of electoral fraud have been widespread were asked about their work experience.

RNC and Trump spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez said in a statement Tuesday.

– We want experienced employees with meaningful views on how elections are won and lost, and real experience-based opinions about what happens in the trenches, she added.

President Biden’s re-election campaign on Wednesday sharply criticized the RNC’s practice of asking potential staffers whether the 2020 election was stolen.

– In Donald Trump’s America, elections are only fair when he wins, and nothing is excluded to retain power. That includes violence similar to what we saw on January 6, 2021. It also includes being a dictator from day one,” Biden spokesman Ammar Moussa said in a statement.

– And now Donald Trump demands allegiance to his extreme, anti-democratic beliefs in order to be part of his Republican Party, she adds.

– You are there to support the candidate

RNC staff were told in early March that they were being laid off, but that they could reapply for jobs.

The application process has included an interview with Trump’s advisers. These advisers this week are reviewing both former employees and some terminated employees to determine how many can either return or remain with the RNC.

Doug Heye, a longtime GOP strategist who worked as communications director at the RNC, says the party had long expected staffers to emulate the positions of its presidential candidates.

– You are there to support the candidate and follow his world view, he says.

But candidates other than Trump would not make such unreasonable claims or put employees in such an uncomfortable situation, he adds.

Asked to move to Florida

– That’s the problem with Trumpism: If you want to play Trump’s game, you have to support him in everything he says. Allegations that the election was stolen are in a way the last expression of that, says Heye.

Other questions have included what the candidates think should be done about “election integrity” in 2024, along with basic questions about their job duties, former employers and their opinions about how things are going at the RNC.

Instead of having employees based in Washington, Trump’s advisers have told potential employees that many are expected to move to Palm Beach, Florida, to be near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago country home. Thus emptying the RNC headquarters. RNC staff have said it is due to a desire to combine campaign and committee operations for maximum leverage ahead of the general election.

The hiring process came after Trump became unhappy with the leadership of RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, who then resigned in early March.

One of his main points of appeal was that the RNC had not done enough to focus on “election integrity” or to support his claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

The daughter-in-law became deputy leader

McDaniel, for her part, was the subject of a widespread uproar this week after she was hired by NBC News as a contributor. The reason was that she had previously questioned the validity of the election. NBC announced Tuesday that it reversed its decision to hire her.

Trump installed Michael Whatley, a loyalist from North Carolina, as leader of the party. At the same time, daughter-in-law Lara Trump was given the job of deputy chairman.

Trump has falsely claimed the election was stolen since 2020 and has often endorsed candidates based on agreement with that view. He is indicted in federal court in Washington, DC for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

For years, some of Trump’s advisers have urged him to stop talking about the election, but he has largely resisted those calls.