What members of Trump’s new Republican ‘blacklist’ have in common: Donald Trump released a written personnel "blacklist," and it's fair to say there’s never been a presidential public statement quite like this one

What members of Trump’s new Republican ‘blacklist’ have in common - MSNBC. Every American should understand, this will be 4 years of hell, 4 years of assaulting our Constitution and Democracy, 4 years of attempts to eliminate democracy and freedom.

The developments left many observers with the impression that Trump and his team had effectively drawn up an intraparty blacklist of sorts, filled with Republicans who are held in such low regard that those who worked with them are necessarily tarnished in the eyes of the president-elect.

It’s against this backdrop that Trump has abandoned all subtlety on the point. The Hill reported:

President-elect Trump on Wednesday said he would not consider individuals affiliated with a host of Republican rivals and critics for jobs in his incoming administration, singling out former Vice President Mike Pence, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R), among others.

In an item published to his social media platform, the incoming president wrote that it would “save time, money, and effort” if people agreed not to “send, or recommend to us, people who worked with, or are endorsed by” Americans for Prosperity, former White House National Security Advisor John Bolton, Haley, Pence, former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley or either of his first-term defense secretaries, James Mattis and Mark Esper.....

The president-elect didn’t just say that these individuals were not welcome in his administration, he added that anyone who “worked with” them will be blocked from executive branch employment, too.

It reflects a rather twisted approach to partisan loyalty: If you worked with Republicans that Trump tapped for powerful positions, you need not apply for positions on Trump’s incoming team. It doesn’t matter if you’re qualified. It doesn’t matter if you’re experienced. It doesn’t matter if you’re a lifelong Republican who backed Trump’s candidacy. It doesn’t matter if Americans would benefit from your public service. What matters is whether you’re associated with a Republican whom Trump considers insufficiently loyal to him personally.

There’s never been a presidential public statement quite like this one.