As Donald Trump Staffs up for Second Term, Only MAGA Loyalists Need Apply

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

64% : This time around, Trump has said only true believers in him - and in his "Make America Great Again" movement - will be allowed into government.
63% : Davis, who helped Trump get his Supreme Court picks through the Senate as a high-ranking Capitol Hill aide, has drawn frequent praise from Trump's most conservative allies.
49% : "On X last week, Davis put it bluntly: "Before asking me for help, I am going to ask you to provide me specific and concrete evidence of your loyalty to Trump," he wrote.
48% : Last time around, that adviser noted, Trump hired officials from the Republican National Committee.
46% : "Instead of making sure agencies and law enforcement have the best and the brightest with the resources they need, Trump and his cronies are looking to dole out job offers to loyalists who will put Trump ahead of the American people," said Alex Floyd, a DNC spokesperson.
43% : In a statement, the Democratic National Committee expressed concern that Trump was choosing loyalists they said would put Trump's interests over those of the nation.
41% : On Thursday, Trump named his campaign chief, Susie Wiles, as White House chief of staff.
35% : A spokesperson for Trump did not address the dynamics of how potential political appointees were being selected, beyond saying decisions on key appointments were imminent.
30% : One of his national security advisers, John Bolton, has repeatedly described Trump as unintelligent.
29% : During his 2017-2021 term, Trump butted heads with key appointees, particularly those in the intelligence, national security and law enforcement communities, several of whom later recounted slow-walking or trying to talk Trump out of his most controversial plans.
27% : And his second defense secretary, Mark Esper, recounted talking Trump out of bombing drug cartels in Mexico in his 2022 autobiography.
24% : Trump has in return blasted those former cabinet-level officials, going so far as to suggest that his second joint chiefs of staff chairman, Mark Milley, should have been executed for treason.
24% : "Trump also fired his first FBI director, James Comey, under similar circumstances.
20% : Trump would also likely face less resistance if he tries to make good on campaign trail pledges to investigate opponents, including Democratic President Joe Biden, a matter of serious concern for Democrats and civil servants.
19% : Trump later said that hiring Sessions was his "biggest mistake.
15% : Researchers contracted by Trump's transition team are sifting through potential appointees' past statements to see if they have ever spoken negatively about Trump, according to one of those people involved in the transition effort, who has direct knowledge of the matter.
5% : Trump fired his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, after he declined to shut down inquiries into contacts between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russian officials.
4% : And on Saturday, Trump said he would not invite back his former U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, nor his former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, both of whom have criticized elements of Trump's conduct and policy, even as they tried to make amends in recent months.

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