Sarah Rumpf says she’s still at RedState, denies ‘ideological purge’

Sarah Rumpf says she’s still writing for the conservative RedState website after nearly a dozen other contract writers were shown the door last week.

Rumpf and others also took to social media Friday to debunk reports that the layoffs were an “ideological purge” against those opposed to President Donald Trump.

“I just spoke with management and confirmed no new editorial philosophy. Told to keep writing as I have. No new restrictions,” she tweeted, adding, “I am NOT pro-Trump. And I was not fired. Several other writers who were also kept were also Never Trump, or are at least Trump-skeptical.”

Rumpf, an Orlando native who recently moved back to Florida from Austin, Texas, also writes for Tallahassee-based The Capitolist, published by former Gov. Rick Scott spokesman Brian Burgess.

In response to a later tweet that asked, “So it’s just a coincidence they fired large amounts of exclusively trump-critics?” Rumpf responded, “Again, I would say my record on Trump speaks for itself. I’ve publicly declared I won’t vote for him in 2020 and have criticized him & members of his administration.

“I’ve defended them where warranted too. As have others who were kept. I do not believe this was ideological.”

The Atlantic was one of several sites reporting the layoffs and sacking of editor Caleb Howe: “One thing many of them had in common was their vocal criticism of Trump.”

Townhall Media, an arm of Salem Media, now owns RedState. Its website describes it as “America’s leading radio broadcaster, internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher targeting audiences interested in Christian and family-themed content and conservative values.”

Former RedState editor Erick Erickson, however, while writing he believed the writing purge “was primarily a financial decision,” also said he thought “it had a lot to do with where one stood on the President.”

“It is Salem’s choice and a business decision,” said Erickson, who left in 2015. “Salem has worked to realign itself to be more pro-Trump. I have talked to a Salem host who felt immense pressure to conform to the corporate line on the President and today, talking to a friend, discovered others in the same boat.”