The unidentified senior White House official who eventually wrote the anonymous op-ed in the New York Times reached out to opinion editor Jim Dao several days ago through an intermediary, according to a Wednesday CNN report.
Dao added that people at the Times also communicated with the official “directly,” but declined to give more details, saying that a “very small number” of people at the Times know the person’s identity and that “special precautions” are being taken to keep the person’s name a secret.
Per CNN, Dao also said that the piece was lightly edited for style and clarity, but that no effort was made to obscure the author’s voice or writing style. He also added that, to his knowledge, the timing of the official’s reaching out in relation to the publishing of excerpts from Bob Woodward’s White House memoir is a coincidence.
Though it is a rare practice, this is not the first time the Times has published an anonymous op-ed. According to CNN, the most recent piece of this kind was written by an asylum seeker fleeing El Salvador.
Dao did not rule out publishing another such piece from a Trump administration official in the future.
Will we get something penned by John Barron?
Trump is dense, yet he reads these stories. Many make allegations there are people in the WH preventing him from making and implementing certain decisions. He’s the President. The actions I read people are subverting are on items Trump could merely decree be done, no argument brooked. Which leads me to believe he’s amenable, however reluctantly, to counsel and advice. He demands something, people push back, he says do it anyway, and those same people leave the room and decide not to do it. But we don’t read of Trump having another go at it, telling them their inaction is unacceptable, and goddamn it, do it. So Trump must be digesting the advice and just living with the inaction, right? Or else he would call people back in and demand to know why the hell something discussed the previous day hadn’t been implemented?
Is it possible he does in fact listen to objections and let the decisions of others hold sway? They aren’t guardrails except to the degree he’s allowing them to be guardrails. Which is entirely different than saying his decisions are being subverted.
I guessing in some ways we’re lucky his attention span is short so he forgets or doesn’t follow up on the stupid shit he requests.
The anonymous senior staff person is obviously seeking redemption and shuffling to be in front of the airbag when the last wheel falls off. If they were any sort of patriot they would call a press conference, resign and not stop talking until Trump was no longer a resident of The White House.
Or they are read to him, or he gets what he knows from the teevee.