NYT Publishes Anonymous Op-Ed From Top Admin Staffer Working To Thwart Trump’s Worst Moves

US President Donald Trump speaks during an event honoring the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection services in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on August 20, 2018. (... US President Donald Trump speaks during an event honoring the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection services in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on August 20, 2018. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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In an extraordinary op-ed published in the New York Times Wednesday afternoon, an anonymous senior official in President Trump’s administration acknowledged that “many” other administration officials are “working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.”

The anonymous official said that there is a group of individuals in the administration that want the Republican administration to succeed but also work to block Trump’s “more misguided impulses.” The official diagnoses the “root of the problem” as the “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 op-ed reads.

Trump responded to the op-ed shortly after it was published, calling it “gutless.” He said that the official who wrote the piece is likely “failing” and that “all these phony media outlets will be out of business” after his presidency.

The administration official also claims that members of Trump’s cabinet contemplated removing him from office.

“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 op-ed reads.

The senior administration official also uses the op-ed to justify working for the Trump administration, arguing that keeping Trump in check is a noble effort, not a craven political move.

“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 reads. “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.”

Read the full op-ed in the New York Times.

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