Trump op-ed sets off wild guesses on author
WASHINGTON - An opinion piece in The New York Times by an anonymous senior administration official claiming to be part of a "resistance" working "from within" to thwart President Donald Trump's "worst inclinations" set off a wild guessing game inside and outside the White House on the author's identity.
In an extraordinary move, a furious Trump tweeted a demand on 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" who wrote the piece to "do the right thing and resign".
To some, the ultimatum appeared to play into the very concerns about the president's impulses raised by the essay's author. Trump has demanded that aides identify the leaker, according to two people familiar with the matter, though it was not yet clear how they might go about doing so. The two were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
A House of Cards-style plot twist in an already over-the-top administration, Trump allies and political insiders scrambled to unmask the writer.
The author, claiming to be part of the "resistance" to Trump "working diligently from within" his administration, said, "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."
"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."
In a blistering statement, the press secretary accused the author of choosing to "deceive" the president by remaining in the administration and putting himself or herself "ahead of the will of the American people. The coward should do the right thing and resign".
Sanders also called on the Times to "issue an apology" for publishing the piece, calling it a "pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed".
The assertions in the column were largely in line with complaints about Trump's behavior that have repeatedly been raised by various administration officials, often speaking on condition of anonymity. And they were published a day after the release of details from an explosive new book by longtime journalist Bob Woodward that laid bare concerns among the highest echelon of Trump aides about the president's judgment.
Associated Press
(China Daily 09/07/2018 page11)
