"Senior Administration Official" Blasts Trump In NYT Op-Ed
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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. But the real difference will be made by everyday citizens rising above politics, reaching across the aisle and resolving to shed the labels in favor of a single one: Americans.
The writer is a senior official in the Trump administration.
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THIS is a bombshell. Talk of the 25th amendment solution (removing trump involuntarily from office) is beginning.
Not a bombshell. More than likely the person who wrote this OpEd is not an official in the WH, but just a lowly "journalist" of the NYT, because most everything the person is whining about is nothing more than left wing talking points. Every left winger cites them.
Even if it were real, the person who wrote this has no balls. If you hate what this President is doing, then be a man/woman and resign. That is the high road and not cowardice hiding behind the failed NYT.
Bugsy, in all sincerity, did you even read the article?
Because what you are saying about left wing talking points does not reflect the article. The writer is obviously a conservative.
I did read it...And sincerely, my opinion says this is a non WH official writing
(Liberal talking point)...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.
(Liberal talking point)...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.
(Liberal talking point)...But these successes have come despite — not because of — the president’s leadership style, which is impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective.
And so on...
Granted, whoever wrote it, did have some positive things, but could this be a distraction to really make it look as if a real senior aide wrote it.
My opinion only...This person, if he really cares about the success of this administration, should out himself and resign. By writing this OpEd, he is doing exactly what he is saying he/she is trying to keep the President from doing...by making things chaotic.
Your idea of "liberal talking points" in this context, is a hoot.
So, even though The Times have claimed to confirm the writer you think it's some journalist?
You'll go to greater lengths I see.
The Times is not exactly the bastion of truth. Quite the opposite, actually.
That is an observable occurrence. It's not a talking point.
So that would be what you would do? Tuck your tail between your legs and run?
He could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot someone... and you would still support him...
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 .
This is what happens when you vote for a reality tv game show host with a serious personality disorder (malignant narcissism) to be president of the United States. Trump voters should be utterly ashamed of themselves.
Yes.
If what this person is saying is actually true, than by publicizing it he's probably guaranteed Trump goes off the rails and all restraints on him are lost.
It's like the deep state is trying to provoke a Presidential meltdown.
If it's not, it's a PR stunt to promote a Book, given the timing.
It's also a gift to Trump in that these anonymous accusations in an OP-ED in a liberal newspaper play to his "fake news" narrative perfectly.
He could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot someone... and you would still defend him.
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My guess would be that the person who wrote this has future political ambitions of their own and does not want to get on the bad side of trump's base in a personal way.
This is something that should be done with a name signed to it, not anonymously. Having said that, this is a serious development. It is likely this is the beginning of a waterfall of such appraisals of Trump, not the end or a one off.
Trump is unfit for office , that has been completely obvious for three years. Some of you have been deluding yourselves up til this point.
If the author of this piece actually believes what they wrote, it's incredibly reckless and foolish to announce it anonymously in the NYT. If the situation is that serious, the author should keep doing what he or she is doing quietly and not risk letting Trump know what's happening. If the author is actually that high up, they probably have access to the cabinet officials and should be anonymously pushing for a 25th Amendment solution.
If Trump is what the author claims, telling Trump that an anonymous conspiracy rooted in the government exists to bring him down is incredibly reckless.
Aside from that, it's immoral to keep the position & benefits of the position. The only honorable thing to do is resign and make the case.
Yeah but it plays right into the Anti-trumpers feelings. I'm calling bullshit. He should come out and enjoy his 15 minutes of fame now.
Perhaps, but it's not illegal so....no problem.
I don't think so at all. Actually, I suspect who did write it and probably best that they stay anonymous for right now. If it's who I think it is (cough, cough, kelly) and it was disclosed, all hell would break loose. Sure, Kelly would be out of a job but Trump? A whole other world of hurt whether it's Kelly or the janitor Trump's got big problems...look for mass resignations.
And he will resign soon enough, this won't be it but the walls are closing in that he can't control or stop.
Since it's obvious now that you didn't read it, that person must be a cabinet member because they said they discussed using the 25th amendment.
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It's interesting that the author says there were "early whispers" of going that route. Apparently they recognized immediately that Trump isn't psychologically stable and suffers from a variety of mental disorders and personality defects.
I can read just fine, can you?
Notice the "WE" part? Comprehension an issue for you?
Do you think the Cabinet members would discuss this with just some guy in the room? Did you notice that it came down to decisions based on " no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis" ya think they were at the water cooler whispering this?
This is cabinet level.
Have you figured out yet how someone who is not a cabinet member may know what was discussed by cabinet members? There are so many, many possibilities. I hope you can figure out just one.
otice the "WE" part? Comprehension an issue for you
Yes, the author and others engaged in the cabal to undercut Trump will continue to do so until Trump is out of office, even if the Cabinet refuses to go the 25th Amendment route. What part is tripping you up?
Assuming someone will read it to him.
You are too clever of a boy not to have already recognized that Trump doesn't need provocation to have a meltdown.
If it's not, it's a PR stunt to promote a Book, given the timing.
Whomever it is, Sean, it's obvious that they care deeply for this country and want to assure all Americans that the problem has been recognized, and steps are being taken to minimize past, present and future damage done by someone completely unqualified to serve in this nation's highest political capacity. And just for the record, I have a feeling there is a smidge of CYA in it, as well. Let's face it: At some point, pretty much everyone in Trump's inner sanctum, especially those who want to continue their public service, might find themselves having to explain why they sat in silence as they watched Trump tear this country apart.
The Trump regime has caused me to revise my opinion on the merit of military coups.
A man capable of shame would do the honorable thing and resign. But, we are talking about Donald Trump...
Trump is on tv right now trying to belittle this op-ed, basically by claiming he is the most successful president ever.
His problem is that he is a pathological liar, which is something that will get anyone and everyone in the end. You can't be a pathological liar and come out well in the long run. Never gonna happen.
It's rather amusing that some RWNJs are seeing this as a confirmation of their "deep state" nuttery or of a coup d'etat in the WH. What it actually reveals is the desperation of bureaucrats when there literally is no credible leadership.
Would it be better if such people resigned rather than continuing to prop up a corrupt and utterly reckless regime? I doubt it because the only ones remaining then would be just as amoral, ignorant and reckless as Trump. The downside is that by continuing in office they're enabling a destructive agenda which is quite harmful to the US and to its relations with our allies. It's not reassuring that the author even admits that he shares that destructive agenda.....he just wants it done more effectively.
meh, I call bullshit, but I admire the genius of the author for planting this seed in the 5th grade mind of a delusional and paranoid POS/POTUS. trump has already swallowed the story hook, line, and sinker. crank up the revolving door. bwah ha ha
If this person had any integrity at all, they would resign.
Maybe it will be the first of a series, with a dozen or so installments, kind of like a reality show.
Yeah, I see that coming too. He's already got a turnover rate higher than a burger joint.
I have to get something other than popcorn....eating it and laughing has become a daily routine.
Il Douche Speaks !
Does the so-called “Senior Administration Official” really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!
Trump approves of torture. Good motivation for the whistleblower to remain silent.
Do not now be surprised, if Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, upon being further denigrated by Trump, and, seeing the emerging handwriting on the wall, goes to Robert Mueller, makes an immunity deal …
… and tells all!
Tighten your seat belts Trumpians!
An MSNBC panel speculated the secret agent is Dan Coats !
Might sound goofy, but I think it's Kelly.
Might sound goofy, but I think it's Kelly.
Putin of course knows what happened in Helsinki.
As I type this, Putin and Assad are reaping the rewards of DJT's giveaway. Our ME goals and allies have been abandoned. We've been sold out.
Poor Trump. Too damn bad he can't lock up all of these traitors who stand in the way of his indecency, immorality and outright vulgarianism.
Where is Ivanka?
Found on the webz:
Where is Ivanka?
id check the New York Times
From Sarah Sanders:
It sounds like she's really talking about Trump........maybe the op-ed author is Sarah?
How Trump's White House is under siege from within The Guardian
A Trump aide’s unprecedented New York Times op-ed came just hours after Bob Woodward’s book laid bare the antipathies and resentments of those who work for him.
Yuri Gripas/Reuters
A n unprecedented op-ed in the New York Times and a devastating book by the veteran Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward have exposed Donald Trump as a modern-day emperor with no clothes.
Taken together, the essay , written by an anonymous Trump administration official, and the book , Fear: Trump in the White House, describe an administration in quiet revolt against its most powerful figure. A “resistance” of officials within Trump’s inner sanctum stealthily plot to foil the worst impulses of an “impetuous” and “amoral” president in an effort, they say, to protect the country he was elected to lead.
“To be clear, ours is not the popular ‘resistance’ of the left,” the “senior administration official” wrote in the op-ed, titled I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration and published by the newspaper on Wednesday. “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.”
In his book Fear, Woodward, who based the account on hundreds of hours of interviews with officials and principals in the Trump administration , paints a damning portrait of a White House in utter disarray under a president who has “gone off the rails”. The White House chief of staff, John Kelly, reportedly summarized the current state of affairs at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as “Crazytown”.
Meanwhile, administration officials and staff are engaged in “an administrative coup d’etat”, according to Woodward, with senior aides conspiring to keep official documents out of Trump’s reach as a way to avert economic or diplomatic crises. In one scene in the book, Gary Cohnplucks a letter from Trump that would have formally withdrawn the US from an important trade agreement with South Korea.
In the op-ed, the official characterizes Trump as “impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective” and so prone to making impulsive and irrational decisions that members of his cabinet explored the possibility of invoking the 25th amendment to remove him from office, though they ultimately decided against it. The amendment is a complex constitutional mechanism to allow for the replacement of a president who is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office”.
The official also claimed the administration’s achievements had included some “bright spots” such as “effective deregulation, historic tax reform, a more robust military and more”. But, the official said, those successes came “despite – not because of – the president’s leadership style”.
The depiction of Trump’s leadership described in the op-ed and the book match what has been reported by news organizations and other writers since he took office in January 2017.
“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,” the official wrote.
The official added: “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 one-two punch has sent the White House into “total meltdown”, according to Politico , as officials launch a full-scale hunt for the culprit behind the New York Times op-ed.
Trump raged on Twitter, calling the essay “treason”. Trump questioned whether the official was a “phony source” but demanded that if the “GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!”
In an official statement, the White House also attacked the opinion column and criticized its author.
“The individual behind this piece has chosen to deceive, rather than support, the duly elected president of the United States,” the White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, said in a statement. “He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people. This coward should do the right thing and resign.”
Trump has always preferred to construct his own reality. “What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what's happening,” he told supporters earlier this year.
On Wednesday, as reality appeared to be closing in, Trump instead bragged about his approval ratings during an event with sheriffs in the East Room of the White House.
“The poll numbers are through the roof,” he told the reporters in the room. “Our poll numbers are great – and guess what? Nobody’s going to come even close to beating me in 2020.”
That most polls show more Americans disapprove than approve of his performance was beside the point. The sheriffs were enjoying the show and when the president finished, they burst into applause.
Trump demanded that the source of the article be disclosed to him immediately..
I'll take things a dictator would say for $100.00...Alex?
It could have been Pence. Unlikely, but not impossible. He takes a beating in the press because he is such a blatant ass kisser.