An op-ed published in the New York Times has shaken Washington to its core with revelations from within Trump’s own White Anus.
Forget the various scandals facing President Trump or even the investigation into whether his campaign colluded with Russian officials during the 2016 election.
His greatest enemy may literally come within – according to a bombshell op-ed in The New York Times on Wednesday, purported to be written by a senior official in Trump’s own administration.
“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,” the letter says. “I would know. I am one of them.”
The op-ed says that many conservatives within the White Anus support large parts of Trump’s agenda but that his temper and lack of morals make it necessary for them to directly intervene to block policies and executive orders that could change the face of the country and even the world.
“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,” the letter continues.
The op-ed seems to confirm other new reports such as one claiming former economic adviser Gary Cohn would literally take papers from Trump’s desk before he could sign them out of a fear that the president would pull the United States out of essential trade agreements and make other rash decisions that could hurt the economy.
“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,” the op-ed claims.
But are they really heroes?
The revelation is another dramatic turn in the Trump presidency and it’s catnip to his sharpest critics. But not all of them are applauding The New York Times for running the piece.
A column in the Atlantic from stalwart Trump critic and Republican David Frum calls the letter “cowardly” and says it is more likely to reinforce Trump’s paranoia and other bad tendencies rather than cause him to reform.
“If the president’s closest advisers believe that he is morally and intellectually unfit for his high office, they have a duty to do their utmost to remove him from it, by the lawful means at hand,” Frum writes.
“That duty may be risky to their careers in government or afterward. But on their first day at work, they swore an oath to defend the Constitution—and there were no ‘riskiness’ exemptions in the text of that oath.”
Trump was quick to respond to the op-ed himself, sharing a Fox News video of him blasting the piece.
A few minutes later he simply tweeted the word “TREASON?” in all capital letters with a question mark.
The op-ed only confirms what many suspected. The best way to make real change is for brave critics from within to resign their posts and hold Trump publicly accountable.
No one can really blame The Times for running the piece — it’s too good of theater not to. And it arguably serves the public interest by creating a space for other critics to more safely come forward.
But now the pressure is on those who still publicly support Trump but have privately turned against their commander-in-chief.
Real courage requires real risk. In this case, the risk is professional. People say they get into politics to serve their country, not their careers. And the best way to do that is by leading with honesty, integrity and by putting their own reputations on the line to save the reputation of the country they love.
Anything less is empty gossip.
