Ex-Aide Raises Red Flag on Donald Trump's Potential 2024 Staff

An ex-aide raised concerns over possible staffing of the White House if former President Donald Trump wins a second term.

On Wednesday, Sarah Matthews, a former White House deputy press secretary under Trump, appeared on CNN's Newsroom with Jim Acosta, to discuss a recent interview between Trump and Time magazine.

"Competency and experience are going to be out the window and in this article he says he wants to put loyalists in these positions of power and a litmus test to secure a job would be that you believe that the 2020 election was stolen from him," Matthews said. "It is concerning to think that there won't be people, I believe, of good character staffing him this go-around.

"It's gonna be a bunch of yes men and women who will do and say what he pleases."

The Context

On Tuesday, Time published a story that featured two interviews, with Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, discussing what he would do if he gets another term in the Oval Office.

When asked "why should voters trust you" when a number of his former Trump officials have not backed his 2024 bid, the former president fired back, saying that he "let them quit" while he was in office and he would do things differently the second time around.

"I let them quit because I have a heart. I don't want to embarrass anybody, I don't think I'll do that again. From now on, I'll fire," Trump told Time.

What We Know

Some of Trump's former officials and Cabinet members have appeared to move away from the former president, refusing to endorse his second run for the presidency. In an interview with Fox News earlier this year, former Vice President Mike Pence said: "It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year."

"Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years, and that's why I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign," Pence added.

Former Attorney General William Barr and former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly have also declined to endorse Trump's 2024 bid.

Views

Earlier this month, Trump's campaign issued a statement to the Washington Post which said that "the majority of the people who served in President Trump's cabinet and in his administration ... have overwhelmingly endorsed his candidacy to beat" President Joe Biden in the next election.

What's Next

In the Time interview, Trump was also asked about other plans he has if he wins the 2024 election, such as handling the U.S.-Mexico border.

When asked about a plan for a mass deportation of illegal migrants, Trump said that "we have no choice. I don't believe this is sustainable for a country, what's happening to us, with probably 15 million and maybe as many as 20 million by the time Biden's out."

"I can see myself using the National Guard and, if necessary, I'd have to go a step further. We have to do whatever we have to do to stop the problem we have," Trump added.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.