“They’re just going after political enemies.”
Republican strategists who have publicly criticized President Donald Trump are getting squeezed out of jobs with GOP candidates, the Daily Beast reports.
According to the report, Republican strategist Rick Tyler, who had previously worked on Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) political campaign, was canned from his job working for Mississippi Senate candidate Chris McDaniel after the Trump White House complained about hiring him. In particular, the White House threatened to endorse his primary opponent unless he cut Tyler from his payroll.
A half a dozen longtime GOP consultants tell The Daily Beast that this has become standard operating procedure for the Trump White House, which they claim “operates as a cult of personality, insisting on lockstep loyalty above every other consideration—even at the expense of competent political practice.”
GOP strategist Susan Del Percio, who has also been harshly critical of Trump, explains to the Daily Beast that the White House’s entire political operation is bent on getting back at its critics.
“There’s no sophistication,” she said. “They are not trying to pick winners and losers at all. They are not getting involved in the races. They are simply vengeful… They’re just going after political enemies.”