Donald Trump has reacted with fury to an anonymous account written by a current Trump administration official claiming an internal White House resistance is working to “frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations” until he leaves – or can be removed from – office.
The op-ed, published in the New York Times on Wednesday, represents a shocking critique of Trump and is without precedent in modern American history. The anonymous author describes Trump as amoral, “anti-trade and anti-democratic” and prone to making “half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions”. The writer claims aides had explored the possibility of removing Trump from office via the 25th amendment, but had decided against it.
Trump responded to the article at the White House late on Wednesday, deriding it as “anonymous, meaning gutless” and describing the author as “some anonymous source within the administration probably who is failing”. In a tweet, he asked “TREASON?” and demanded the Times turn the author over to the government.
The author, however, writes that “ours is not the popular ‘resistance’ of the left”, but a coalition that wants the administration to flourish. They praise their efforts as “heroic” as they attempt to “keep bad decisions contained to the West Wing”.
An official statement from the White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, called the op-ed “pathetic, reckless, and selfish” and said the author should resign. Sebastian Gorka, the former White House aide, told the Guardian: “If this were 1917 or 1944 this would count as treason of the highest order.”
