Someone close to Trump blasted him in an anonymous NYT op-ed—here’s everything to know

At this point, the accounts of chaos within the White House under President Donald Trump are too numerous to count. Anonymous leaks to the press have portrayed a federal government in disarray and a president who, frankly, has no idea what he’s doing. And these damning reports keep coming. Yesterday, September 5th, The New York Times published an anonymous op-ed from a high-up government official who claimed they were secretly fighting Trump from inside the White House.

The anonymous op-ed author seems to corroborate reports that Trump is irrational and unfit to lead, but also said that they and several others in the White House had “vowed to thwart parts of [Trump’s] agenda and his worst inclinations.”

However, this “resistance,” the author clarifies, is only against Trump—not the administration’s politics. The author expresses disgust at the president’s disregard for conservative ideals and claims that Trump’s impulsive nature “results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back.” At the beginning of Trump’s term, the author writes, certain officials even considered invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump, but they decided against this in the interest of stability.

https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1037661021870206976

After the op-ed was published, Trump posted a taped statement to Twitter in which he railed against the “failing New York Times” and claimed that his administration has “done more than anyone ever thought possible.” He followed it up with a tweet calling the anonymous author “gutless” and questioning their existence.

https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1037456816601485316

https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1037485664433070080

CNN notes that anonymous opinion pieces are rare but not unprecedented. In a note that preceded the op-ed, The New York Times revealed that it knows the identity of the writer, but that disclosing their name could jeopardize their job.

Twitter, of course, already has theories about who penned the op-ed. The author’s use of the word “lodestar”—meaning “one that serves as an inspiration, model, or guide”—caused several people to speculate that Vice President Mike Pence wrote the piece.

Here's Pence saying #Lodestar eight times, going back to 2001. I'm just saying! pic.twitter.com/oWWtngCgpK

— Tommy moderna-vaX-Topher (@tommyxtopher) September 6, 2018

The word is "LODESTAR." Note that it comes in the same paragraph praising John McCain. That would rule out flame-throwers like Stephen Miller and Dan Scavino and suggest someone with Senate ties. This reveal is not going to take long. pic.twitter.com/NwnUtvFlko

— Dan Bloom (@danbl00m) September 5, 2018

false

"lodestar" (h/t @danbl00m) pic.twitter.com/SqKFlBTR0f

— David Mack (@davidmackau) September 5, 2018

Others suggested that the word was used to frame Pence and throw readers off the real author’s trail.

Also, using the word "lodestar" in there when you know it's closely tied to Pence would be a pretty great way to screw Pence over.

— John Moe (@johnmoe) September 6, 2018

I don't think it's Pence. I think it's someone that knows Pence uses this obscure word a bunch and probably thinks he's a dupe. They may be stirring the pot, causing more friction and making 45 question Mr. Mother. #lodestar

— TyrannaNana Rox (@RoxannaOC) September 6, 2018

This is stupid. The person who wrote the letter could obviously research and find out that Pence was the only one to use the word lodestar in a speech all year and dropped it in this x piece just to throw shade his way

— Dana E Frederick (@DanaEFrederick3) September 6, 2018

Both Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have denied writing the op-ed, according to CNBC.

We may never know the person behind the op-ed, but one thing’s for sure: the piece is without precedence in U.S. history, and we can only hope that the “forces of resistance” in the White House are victorious.