September 5, 2018Gronda Morin

Who Wrote This Anonymous NY Times Op-ED Piece Regarding President Trump?

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On the 5th of September 2018, the New York Times has made the unprecedented move to publish an op-ed piece by an anonymous source. The NY Times executives know who the insider is but they are withholding his /her name for his/ her protection.

The op-ed piece reinforces what is depicted in the recently published Bob Woodward book, ‘Fear.’

Most Americans have figured out that the republican President Donald Trump is unfit to carry out the duties required of the US presidency. What we can’t figure out and forgive are that the GOP members working in the US Congress have failed in their oversight duties to protect this country and its citizens from the harm being rendered to its institutions and to its democratic values by this immoral, incompetent leader. They have been MIA in living up to their oaths of office.

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Here is the rest of the story…

As per the NY Times, “The Times today is taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay. We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers. We invite you to submit a question about the essay or our vetting process here.

Excerpts from the op-ed piece, “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration” (I work for the president but like-minded colleagues and I have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.”):

“President Trump is facing a test to his presidency unlike any faced by a modern American leader.”

“It’s not just that the special counsel looms large. Or that the country is bitterly divided over Mr. Trump’s leadership. Or even that his party might well lose the House to an opposition hellbent on his downfall.”

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“The dilemma — which he does not fully grasp — is that 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.”

“To be clear, ours is not the popular “resistance” of the left. 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.”

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“That is why 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 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.”

“Although he was elected as a Republican, the president shows little affinity for ideals long espoused by conservatives: free minds, free markets and free people. At best, he has invoked these ideals in scripted settings. At worst, he has attacked them outright.”

“In addition to his mass-marketing of the notion that the press is the “enemy of the people,” President Trump’s impulses are generally anti-trade and anti-democratic.”

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“Don’t get me wrong. 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.”

“But these successes have come despite — not because of — the president’s leadership style, which is impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective.”

“From the White House to executive branch departments and agencies, senior officials will privately admit their daily disbelief at the commander in chief’s comments and actions. Most are working to insulate their operations from his whims.”

“Meetings with him veer off topic and off the rails, he engages in repetitive rants, and his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back.”

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MOST STAFFERS QUIT

“There is literally no telling whether he might change his mind from one minute to the next,” a top official complained to me recently, exasperated by an Oval Office meeting at which the president flip-flopped on a major policy decision he’d made only a week earlier.”

“The erratic behavior would be more concerning if it weren’t for unsung heroes in and around the White House. Some of his aides have been cast as villains by the media. But in private, they have gone to great lengths to keep bad decisions contained to the West Wing, though they are clearly not always successful.”

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

“The result is a two-track presidency.”

“Take foreign policy: In public and in private, President Trump shows a preference for autocrats and dictators, such as President Vladimir Putin of Russia and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, and displays little genuine appreciation for the ties that bind us to allied, like-minded nations.”

“Astute observers have noted, though, that the rest of the administration is operating on another track, one where countries like Russia are called out for meddling and punished accordingly, and where allies around the world are engaged as peers rather than ridiculed as rivals.”

“On Russia, for instance, the president was reluctant to expel so many of Mr. Putin’s spies as punishment for the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain. He complained for weeks about senior staff members letting him get boxed into further confrontation with Russia, and he expressed frustration that the United States continued to impose sanctions on the country for its malign behavior. But his national security team knew better — such actions had to be taken, to hold Moscow accountable.”

“This isn’t the work of the so-called deep state. It’s the work of the steady state.”

“Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until — one way or another — it’s over.”

“The bigger concern is not what Mr. Trump has done to the presidency but rather what we as a nation have allowed him to do to us. We have sunk low with him and allowed our discourse to be stripped of civility.”

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“Senator John McCain put it best in his farewell letter. All Americans should heed his words and break free of the tribalism trap, with the high aim of uniting through our shared values and love of this great nation.”

“We may no longer have Senator McCain. But we will always have his example — a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue. Mr. Trump may fear such honorable men, but we should revere them.”

“There is a quiet resistance within the administration of people choosing to put country first.”

27 comments

  2. I knew you’d have a fantastic post regarding this Gronda. To be honest I’m a little torn about whoever wrote this. My first reaction was “Yes! Finally someone in the administration has the courage to tell the truth.” But after re-reading it a couple of times my celebratory mood started going downhill. Anonymous has to be someone with a large amount of authority. Yet they and the “resistance” rather than doing the right thing and indeed invoking the 25th Amendment, difficult as it would be, choose to serve a deranged president in order to get what they want—which is usually to the detriment of just about everyone except for the rich. I just don’t know how I feel about this.🤷🏻‍♀️

    Liked by 3 people

    • Dear Kim,

      I have mixed feelings about Anonymous, as well. The speculation/ grape vine has it that the anonymous source could be VP Pence because of a word he likes to use in his writings, ‘Lodestar.’ This would explain why he can’t resign, his conservative leanings as detailed in the op-ed piece, and his focus on President Trump’s lack of morality.

      If he were to come forward, those on the right would make his life a living hell.

      But this is all speculation. Thanks a million times for all of your support and for this reblog.

      Hugs, Gronda

      Liked by 2 people

      • I just read the theory regarding Pence. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. My biggest issue in addition what I already said in my previous comment, is that whoever Anonymous is, he/she may have just precipitated the constitutional crisis they were supposedly trying to avert by not invoking the 25th Amendment. Trump was already paranoid, I afraid this is going to make him more so and the Republicans have already demonstrated that they’re going to sit back and do nothing.

        Liked by 3 people

      • Dear Nan,

        My money is on VP Pence. News reporters have targeted VP Pence for this honor because of a word he likes to use in his writings, ‘Lodestar.’ This would explain why he can’t resign, his conservative leanings as detailed in the op-ed piece, and his focus on President Trump’s lack of morality. And if he were to come forward, those on the right would make his life a living hell. He would be toast, politically.

        It all fits. But this is all speculation. For example, some are saying that the source could be VP Pence’s speechwriter.

        Lawrence O’Donnell guessed Dan Coats which would make sense because he has no future political aspirations.

        Jennifer Rubin thinks that it is a person one level down from the top tier of White House key players like a deputy somebody.

        Hugs, Gronda

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Whoever wrote this is firmly entrenched in Republican ideals. To refer to Historic Tax Reforms as though what’s happened is good. There may be a secret resistance to Trump within the White House but I’d suggest ridding themselves of Trump would have been better for the country and his VP would have come to power then and may have been able to repair some of the damage before the mid-terms. The timing of this strikes me as a bit ‘Don’t blame us, blame him’.ready for the mid-term elections.
    Hugs

    Liked by 2 people

    • Dear David Prosser,

      This New York Times opinion piece is big news in the USA. You are right in your analysis. The author is a conservative who was in favor in the tax cuts, the increase in military spending, deregulation. But he also refers to the president’s amorality.

      I am putting my bet on VP Pence as being the anonymous source.

      Lawrence O’Donnell on his MSNBC TV evening show guessed Dan Coats which would make sense as he has no future political aspirations.

      Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post thinks that it is a person one level down from the top tier of White House key players like a deputy somebody.

      Hugs, Gronda

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear ivankinsman,

      Lawrence O’Donnell on his MSNBC TV show was going to share who he believed wrote this op-ed piece but I fell asleep before he shared his educated guess. I’m guessing VP Pence.

      I did Google this for Lawrence O’Donnell. His guess is Dan Coats. He made a good case. The problem with VP Pence is that he has future political ambitions and if he were the author, that would nix it. He is not capable of this act of conscience. Dan Coats does and he was a good friend to Senator McCain.

      Thanks a million times for your support and for this reblog.

      Hugs, Gronda

      Like

    • Dear Horty,

      It seems that our president is not capable of feeling shame. He is just livid. The scuttlebutt is that he has been like a volcano. Kicking this guy out of the White House will not be easy.

      Thanks a million times over for all your support and for this reblog.

      Hugs, Gronda

      Liked by 1 person

      • You are most welcome, dear one!! This guy will have to be pried from the columns of the White House! He’s a disgusting POS … I don’t have anything good to say about him. He makes me want to puke!!

        Liked by 1 person

        • Dear Horty,

          Lawrence O’Donnell has made the educated guess of the DNI Head, Dan Coats. This choice does make sense because Dan Coats has no future political ambitions whereas, VP Mike Pence does.

          Dan Coats is a former US senator who had a friendship with Senator John McCain.

          Hugs, Gronda

          Liked by 1 person

        • Hi there, sweet one!! Yes, I saw his show last night. I don’t miss Rachel or him.
          I wondered, what’s the big deal of identifying the ‘writer’? It’s giving Drumpf ideas and more ammunition for insane tweets and now …. persecution in the WH. Maybe you could clarify this for me.
          This doesn’t clear any of the many enablers that are there or in Congress!!
          Hugs …

          Liked by 1 person

        • Dear Horty,

          For me, it is the message that’s important not who the messenger is.

          President Trump is going to be running an inquisition as to who the culprit is, no matter what.

          The find the messenger game is one that the Washington DC pundits are mired in as it kills them, not to know.

          Like you, what I want to know, are how the GOP leaders/ enablers in the US Congress going to act with this news.

          Hugs, Gronda

          Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Suzanne,

      Let’s see what happens. I’m now with Lawrence O’ Donnell’s pick of the DNI head, Dan Coats.

      The big question is how are the GOP leaders going to respond with this news being so publicly exposed, that sidestepping dealing with this reality is becoming less tenable.

      Thanks a million times over for your support and for this reblog.

      Hugs, Gronda

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Whereas common folk on the outside can openly vilify Trump and suffer only a sprinkling of trolls, the closer in a person is the more danger they are in. If such a person opened up now, even if Trump’s supporters fell by half there would still be some 10 to 15 million folk ready wage an unholy war, along with the crawling things which inhabit the talk radio and cable network’s less savoury areas. That is a great deal of pressure and worrying about your family too.
    Stealth is the best tactic, since an incompetent egotist will be looking in so many different directions.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Dear Roger,

    I would not want to be in this person’s shoes. I’d leave the country in fear of my life. Even then, I wouldn’t feel safe.

    There are so many Senior officials going on TV to deny any responsibility. Now, there are those who are even talking about lie detector tests for White House staffers.

    There is no way I would agree to this unless President Trump was the first to be strapped in for this experience.

    Hugs, Gronda

    Like

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