FOLLOW US

An anonymous senior official wrote an editorial piece for the New York Times claiming to be working against President Donald Trump for the good of the country. Now, Trump is calling for this person to reveal him or herself while top officials say, “not me.”

Claims of the Anonymous Official

The author of the piece, which appeared in the Times on Wednesday, said that presidential appointees are working against their boss. He or she said that they are even considering removing him from office via the 25^th Amendment.

“Many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office,” the author wrote. “…many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations. I would know. I am one of them.

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

The author added that Trump’s successes while in office aren't a credit to him. Rather, they came “despite — not because of — the president’s leadership style, which is impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective.”

Finally, the author wrote that “there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment” because of the president’s “instability.”

The 25th Amendment provides for the possibility of the vice president to carry out the duties of president if the elected president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” The vice president and a majority of the cabinet would need to vote yes to invoke the amendment.

Reactions from the Administration

Trump spoke about the New York Times editorial Wednesday, saying, “They don’t like Donald Trump and I don’t like them.”

He tweeted Wednesday night that if “the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!”

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called on the “coward” writer to “do the right thing and resign.”

Trump continued Thursday morning, tweeting, “The Deep State and the Left, and their vehicle, the Fake News Media, are going Crazy — & they don’t know what to do.” The term “deep state” refers to a supposed conspiratorial group within the government.

Reactions outside the Administration

John Brennan, former CIA director, said the Times piece is an example of “active insubordination ... born out of loyalty to the country.”

“This is not sustainable to have an executive branch where individuals are not following the orders of the chief executive,” he said. “I do think things will get worse before they get better. I don’t know how Donald Trump is going to react to this. A wounded lion is a very dangerous animal, and I think Donald Trump is wounded.”

Sen. Dick Durbin (D, IL) said Wednesday that he found the Times author’s claims to be believable.

Denials

Both Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo quickly denied being the author of the Times piece.

Pompeo said, “It’s not mine.” He then accused the Times of trying to undermine the president, which he found “incredibly disturbing.”

Some suspected Pence to be the writer because the author used the word “lodestar,” a term Pence uses frequently. However, Jarrod Agen, communications director for Pence, tweeted early Thursday that “The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds. The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts.”