2:22
- ABC News
- Donald Trump
- September 5, 2018
Admin official vows to thwart Trump in NYT op-ed
The senior official says the goal is frustrate Trump's "worst inclinations."
2:22
Later, he tweeted, \"If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!\"
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018
The blistering essay in the New York Times comes just a day after advance excerpts of a highly critical book by veteran Washington reporter Bob Woodward were published and similarly painted a portrait of a careening chief executive whose worst impulses are tempered by behind the scenes work of top aides. The president has sought to discredit the book as a “work of fiction.”
The anonymous official goes on to lay out ways, specifically on the topic of foreign policy, where Trump appointees have worked to shape policies – such as on the topic of Russia – that are at odds with the president’s preferences in order to protect important norms.
“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,” the anonymous official writes in the Times.
The official says there were even discussions within the Cabinet at one point to invoke the 25th Amendment in order to remove the president from office, but that officials instead charted a path of quiet resistance.
“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 official said.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/sarah-sanders-gty-jc-180905_hpEmbed_11x8_384.jpg\")
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders also issued a blistering statement in reaction, calling the author a \"coward\" and saying the person should resign. She called for the Times to apologize as well.
\"The individual behind this piece has chosen to deceive, rather than support, the duly elected President of the United States. 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,” Sanders said in the statement.
She called for the Times to apologize as well.
\"We are disappointed, but not surprised, that the paper chose to publish this pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed. This is a new low for the so-called “paper of record,” she said. \"This is just another example of the liberal media’s concerted effort to discredit the President,\" Sanders added.
The Times explains its decision to publish the anonymous essay, saying it is being done at the author’s request to protect the person's job, while also expressing the publication’s belief that providing the writer the assurance of anonymity “is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers.”
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