--- description: Officials organizing the Republican convention have a message for GOP staffers who have spoken out against Donald Trump title: Republican Party Says Convention Volunteers Can't Knock Donald Trump image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4c2869231b4e970/6988924e524fc07bc8df7e45/trump-donald.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 Election](/tag/2016-election/) ## 2016 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Republican Party Says Convention Volunteers Can't Knock Donald Trump by [Zeke Miller](/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 6, 2016 10:05 PM CUT  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to supporters in Charleston, W.Va., on May 5, 2016. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to supporters in Charleston, W.Va., on May 5, 2016.Chris Tilley—Reuters by [Zeke Miller](/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 6, 2016 10:05 PM CUT Officials organizing [the Republican convention](http://time.com/4317874/republican-party-donald-trump-contested-convention-john-kasich-ted-cruz/ "undefined") in Cleveland have a message for GOP staffers who have spoken out against [presumptive presidential nominee](http://time.com/4320824/donald-trump-world-response-nominee/ "undefined") [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4319197/how-the-gop-is-dealing-with-donald-trumps-nomination/ "undefined"): look elsewhere if you want to volunteer in July. According to an email sent to the Republican National Committee’s Professional Volunteer list—a group of party operatives experienced in everything from logistics to communications—those who are not or may not be perceived to be impartial could be disqualified from participating in the convention. The note adds that the guidance was set “due to circumstances this year.” The letter says: --- > “” --- One Republican operative who received the email said the guidance wasn’t sent in 2012\. “Everyone from \[RNC chairman\] Reince Priebus to dog catcher has criticized Donald Trump,” said the operative. “Are they going to disqualify Paul Ryan now too?” (Ryan decided to [withhold](http://time.com/4320139/donald-trump-paul-ryan-republican-party/ "undefined") his endorsement of Trump on Thursday.) Convention spokesperson Kirsten Kukowski said the guidance was reflective of the party’s efforts to unify behind the nominee. “The convention has been working for over a year on preparations for July,” she said. “This is all done knowing there will be a presumptive nominee we will partner with as our Party comes to Cleveland to nominate our candidate to run against the Democrats in the general election. We welcome any volunteers who want to join us in that mission.” Kukowski would not discuss what level of criticism would disqualify potential volunteers. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4321614/donald-trump-republican-convention/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4321614/donald-trump-republican-convention/"},"headline":"Republican Party Says Convention Volunteers Can't Knock Donald Trump","datePublished":"2016-05-06T22:05:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:21:28.207Z","description":"The Republican National Committee tells the rank-and-file to fall in line","url":"https://time.com/4321614/donald-trump-republican-convention/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4c2869231b4e970/6988924e524fc07bc8df7e45/trump-donald.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta4c2869231b4e970/6988924e524fc07bc8df7e45/trump-donald.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to supporters in Charleston, West Virginia, U.S. May 5, 2016. 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