Senior administration official blasts Trump in anonymous NYT op-ed

[mystery-ak]

Senior administration official blasts Trump in anonymous NYT op-ed
By Avery Anapol - 09/05/18 03:53 PM EDT



A person identified as a senior administration official blasted President Trump in an anonymous op-ed published by The New York Times on Wednesday, saying they were working to “thwart” President Trump’s “worst inclinations.”

In the piece, titled, “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration,” the author says that while officials “want the administration to succeed,” they have had to work against Trump’s “misguided impulses” and parts of his agenda.

"To be clear, ours is not the popular 'resistance' of the left," the piece reads. "We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous."

“But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic,” the unidentified official wrote.

The Times said in a note attached to the op-ed that the author, described as "a senior official in the Trump administration," requested their essay be published anonymously.

The newspaper explained its extraordinary decision to publish a column without providing the name of the author, stating, "We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers."

The newspaper said the person's identity was known to the Times and their "job would be jeopardized" by their name being disclosed.

In the piece, the official denounces Trump’s “amorality” and describes his impulses as “generally anti-trade and anti-democratic.”

"The root of the problem is the president’s amorality. Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision making," they wrote.

The piece describes a number of instances that the author describes as part of a “two-track presidency,” saying when Trump expresses a desire to take a particular action, aides and officials around him work to do another.

The official briefly praises the administration, but suggests that its successes are not because of the president.

“There are bright spots that the near-ceaseless negative coverage of the administration fails to capture: effective deregulation, historic tax reform, a more robust military and more,” the piece reads. “But these successes have come despite — not because of — the president’s leadership style, which is impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective.”

Trump has long attacked some of the institutions in his own administration for alleged political bias, and speculated that there are people within the government working to undermine him. But the author of the Times piece pushed back on the suggestion that there is a so-called deep state.

"This isn’t the work of the so-called deep state," the person continued. "It’s the work of the steady state."

The official also said that Trump’s Cabinet originally speculated about invoking the 25th Amendment to deem Trump unsuited for office and remove him, but that they did not want to “precipitate a constitutional crisis.”

“It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room,” the official wrote. “We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do what’s right even when Donald Trump won’t.”

Updated: 4:17 p.m.


https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opinion/trump-white-house-anonymous-resistance.html
I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration

[mystery-ak]

Trump blasts NYT after newspaper prints anonymous op-ed
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/405252-trump-blasts-nyt-after-newspaper-prints-anonymous-op-ed

[Bigun]

Mr. Anonymous is a bad ass ain't he?

[Wingnut]

It is all made up.  Fake news.

[Hoodat]

A person identified as a senior administration official .  .  .

A senior Obama Administration official

[Wingnut]

We found:

"The Dem Plant".


http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,199065.0.html

[Hoodat]

If any administration official thought about doing something like this, the very last place they would take it would be to the NY Times.    Instead, they would go to the Wash Times.  And they damn well wouldn't save it until the Kavanaugh hearing to publish it.

[XenaLee]

"This isn’t the work of the so-called deep state," the person continued. "It’s the work of the steady state."

More like.... the work of the asleep (at the switch) state.... eh, Jeff?

[Frank Cannon]

I'm glad Karl Rove was able to get this off his chest.

[Emjay]

Mr. Anonymous is a bad ass ain't he?

He is and so difficult to hit, even with an assault rifle.

[corbe]

   FTA:

The official also said that Trump’s Cabinet originally speculated about invoking the 25th Amendment to deem Trump unsuited for office and remove him, but that they did not want to “precipitate a constitutional crisis.”

   That's the problem with DC today, no one's got no balls.

 

[edpc]

The newspaper said the person's identity was known to the Times and their "job would be jeopardized" by their name being disclosed.



Wow - really???

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Here's the tipoff that either 1) the story was simply invented by the NYT; or 2) the "senior official" is just making stuff up:

The official also said that Trump’s Cabinet originally speculated about invoking the 25th Amendment to deem Trump unsuited for office and remove him, but that they did not want to “precipitate a constitutional crisis.”

Just consider what is actually being said there:  That the cabinet "originally" (presumably meaning early in his Presidency) had a meeting in which they discussed invoking the 25th Amendment to remove the newly-elected President from office, but decided against it because they did not want to precipitate a constitutional crisis.  A cabinet meeting, to discuss removing Trump, to which this senior official was privy.

Does anyone really believe that actually happened?  And that nobody leaked that earlier, either to the President, the press, or to anyone else?  Not a single member of the cabinet would have considered that a coup attempt and reported those discussions to the President immediately?

No way that cabinet discussion happened.  Zero chance.

[catfish1957]

   FTA:
   That's the problem with DC today, no one's got no balls.

 

Op-Ed seems accurate from many of our perspectives.  Most interesting is his/her comment that he/she apparently is not the only singular member of this resistance.

OTOH....this is the NYT which even sucks for bird cage liner.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

The newspaper said the person's identity was known to the Times and their "job would be jeopardized" by their name being disclosed.



Wow - really???

And still, utterly irresponsible to have printed that Op-Ed.  If someone is going to drop that big an alleged bombshell, about something so important, than they should have resigned and then dropped it.  God knows the interviews and book deals would more than make up for any loss.  Otherwise, there is absolutely no way for anyone to know that the "senior official" even has the kind of access/knowledge to have first-hand knowledge about the facts contained in the Op-Ed.  They could just be the dreamy fantasies of some relatively low-level schmuck.  Absolutely no way for readers to know.

I very strongly suspect that if this person's name was revealed, the reaction would be "minor person who could not possibly have had knowledge about the stuff claimed", along with a torrent of criticism that would have dumped mega-gallons of cold water on the story.

They hide the identify not to protect the writer, but to give the Op-Ed a veneer of authoritativeness that otherwise would be absent.

[Concerned]

The OpEd strikes me as absolutely believable and credible:  Trump as “petty”, “amoral”, “repetitive rant(ing)”, “ill-informed”, and “chaotic”.  One only has to watch him in action and read his tweets to see all of this.  I have no doubt (but certainly hope) that there are people in his Administration who "want the administration to succeed" but who also "believe (their) first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic."

Just imagine the type of OpEd that could have been written had the President NOT hired “only the best people”.   

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Op-Ed seems accurate from many of our perspectives.  Most interesting is his/her comment that he/she apparently is not the only singular member of this resistance.

OTOH....this is the NYT which even sucks for bird cage liner.

How much credibility do you give to the claim that the cabinet met to discuss removing Trump under the 25th Amendment but decided not to because it would mean a constitutional crisis? 

[Frank Cannon]

The OpEd strikes me as absolutely believable and credible: 

Of course it does. You are a rabid Trump hater. You love the Establishment and their preferred news sources like the Slimes. This manufactured fraud piece fits your unsubstantiated and manufactured memes about the President.

This shit is tailor made for haters and that's why they ran it. Foment more hate.

BTW MAGA!!!

[Wingnut]

How much credibility do you give to the claim that the cabinet met to discuss removing Trump under the 25th Amendment but decided not to because it would mean a constitutional crisis?

You make an excellent point.  Maybe the slimes should try to prove that meeting happened. 

I am sure the Anonymous sources are all lined up as we type this and the quotes are being fabricated.

[Bigun]

And still, utterly irresponsible to have printed that Op-Ed.  If someone is going to drop that big an alleged bombshell, about something so important, than they should have resigned and then dropped it.  God knows the interviews and book deals would more than make up for any loss.  Otherwise, there is absolutely no way for anyone to know that the "senior official" even has the kind of access/knowledge to have first-hand knowledge about the facts contained in the Op-Ed.  They could just be the dreamy fantasies of some relatively low-level schmuck.  Absolutely no way for readers to know.

I very strongly suspect that if this person's name was revealed, the reaction would be "minor person who could not possibly have had knowledge about the stuff claimed", along with a torrent of criticism that would have dumped mega-gallons of cold water on the story.

They hide the identify not to protect the writer, but to give the Op-Ed a veneer of authoritativeness that otherwise would be absent.

Totally agree!   If Mr. Anonymous were really so concerned with "saving the country" saving his job wouldn't even be a consideration.

[Bigun]

The OpEd strikes me as absolutely believable and credible:  Trump as “petty”, “amoral”, “repetitive rant(ing)”, “ill-informed”, and “chaotic”.  One only has to watch him in action and read his tweets to see all of this.  I have no doubt (but certainly hope) that there are people in his Administration who "want the administration to succeed" but who also "believe (their) first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic."

Just imagine the type of OpEd that could have been written had the President NOT hired “only the best people”.   

How do I know that you didn't write the damned thing?   

[Maj. Bill Martin]

The other thing about that Op-Ed is that the author claims to want the Trump agenda to succeed -- the "we're only trying to help" claim.  But the truth is that this Op-Ed obviously does nothing of the sort.  If anything, it would intensify suspicion and dysfunction within the White House.  The publication of that Op-Ed is destructive, not constructive.  That's something the author surely would have known, and yet went ahead with it anyway.  Proving that the "we're only here to help" claim is simply false.

[Concerned]

How do I know that you didn't write the damned thing?

I'm not a "Senior Administration Official", and I'm certainly NOT considered "only the best people".   

[Wingnut]

If this was in the Wapo Woodward would have his deep throat II.

I bet he is pissed the Slimes got it.

[txradioguy]

If this is proven to be legit...its frightening on several levels.