Not that he’ll be anonymous for long, which I’m presuming was part of the grift. This is the single best response I’ve seen so far…
Though it is massive and stands as one of the greatest threats to our existence, your fragile ego is not a national security asset in need of protection, Mr. President. https://t.co/mkNCM5XT1F
— John Dingell (@JohnDingell) September 6, 2018
See — you can be old and reliant on young staffers and yet not be a total dick!
I Am Willing to Sacrifice Anything to Protect Our Democracy, Up to But Not Including Losing an Election or Giving Up Literally Any Policy That I Support: A Hero's Story
— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) September 5, 2018
And the genius who created this is @JoshhTerry. A cheer for brilliance! https://t.co/3frnprfNsW
— Erik Loomis (@ErikLoomis) September 5, 2018
Call me crazy but I DO NOT take comfort in being told by an anonymous WH staffer that the president is crazy but his aides, who face no public accountability, have everything covered
— Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) September 5, 2018
Beware: a main complaint of the anon NYT op-ed is that Trump betrays the conservative revolution. It's thus part and parcel of washing plain old regular conservative movement insanity in the blood of the lamb, positioning it as Washington's respectable center.
— Rick Perlstein (@rickperlstein) September 5, 2018
New York Times op-ed writer forgot to “thwart” Trump in:
??letting 3,000 die in Puerto Rico
??separating 2,000+ families & locking kids in cages
??betraying NATO allies and sucking up to Kim Jong-Un & Putin
??reneging on Paris Climate Agreement
??attacking U.S. Intelligence
— Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) September 5, 2018
“We considered using the process spelled out in the constitution but decided that would be too messy and opted for trying a slow-motion coup instead, but then we decided to undermine that by going public about it anonymously.”
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) September 5, 2018
Seriously, I hope their cover gets blown tomorrow and they get pantsed live on Fox & Friends. No one who voluntarily signs up for this shitshow is decent. There are only those who sense the walls closing in.
— zeddy (@Zeddary) September 6, 2018
Op-Ed, by Anonymous: There Are Roughly 65 Million of Us Who Predicted Every Awful Bit of This Shitshow (Or at Least Voted for Someone Who Did) & Y’all Called Us Vaginas Like That’s Even an Insult. Fuck You All & This Haunted Landfill of a Platform, Too
— Alby the Violent Bibliophile (@albyselkie) September 6, 2018
I don't begrudge anyone for determining that they can be most effective from inside, but the itch to make such a case in national print media suggests a need to fluff ones ego, indulge a self-righteous streak, or maybe even convince onesself that staying is the right call.
— Liam Donovan (@LPDonovan) September 5, 2018
It'll be amazing when that op-ed author is revealed to be David Dennison.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) September 5, 2018
This is all true. There were the initial outbursts in the WH when they read the anonymous staffer's words — mostly a mix of irritation and betrayal; some disbelief that the person is actually anyone with a high rank. Much speculation now about who the writer might be. https://t.co/B0HgbXV4v7
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) September 5, 2018
There's a feeling of resentment inside WH that aides can't be sure who to trust, and a professional encounter with a colleague can turn into an exercise in threat-risk analysis. But there's also a desire by some to pull together and thwart those who want to exacerbate mistrust.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) September 5, 2018
I've been on the phone for the past hour talking to an Anonymous White House Official who claims Trump swears he's a Holstein cow. When I asked AWHO why they won't do anything to stop an obviously unfit man from running the country, he says "Because we need the milk". ??????
— Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) September 6, 2018
As soon as one of these assholes opposes his re-elect I’m onboard. Until then it’s obnoxious self regard combined with phony patriotism to help them feel better
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) September 5, 2018
Major Major Major Major
When I think about that part, I keep thinking about the cop in Hot Fuzz complaining about “a considerable amount of paperwork.”
WaterGirl
Wow, some of those tweets are great.
John Revolta
Well, they say time loves a hero
But only time will tell
If he’s real, he’s a legend from heaven
If he ain’t, he was sent here from hell
Calouste
@Major Major Major Major: The problem with following the process in the Constitution (25th Amendment Section 4) is that the shitgibbon only needs 1/3 of either the House or the Senate to return to power. And there can be little doubt he has those votes. Then we have the scenario where the VP and the majority of the cabinet have basically declared the President insane, but he is still in power. Then what? We could end up in the situation where he starts sacking his cabinet for being disloyal, but he won’t have enough votes in the Senate to get replacements confirmed.
I don’t think the writers of the 25th Amendment thought this scenario was possible, that Section 4 would be invoked when the President had a serious illness or a stroke or something, not that someone completely unfit and uncapable would be elected.
Viva BrisVegas
Omar for President.
Chris T.
I do think it would be fun if it turns out that literally every White House staffer, from Kellyanne and Jarvanka on down to the limo drivers, kitchen staff, and janitors were part of the “conspiracy”…
hells littlest angel
@Chris T.:
“I am Anonymous White House Official .”
“I am Anonymous White House Official .”
“I am Anonymous White House Official .”
… etc, minus the selflessness.
Martin
That oped still pisses me off. You know how when a campaign is starting to implode everyone starts leaking like crazy to prove that they were the only competent person on the campaign? My guess here is that the publishing industry has actually run out of money. They’ve put so many 7 figure advances on current and former Trump officials that there’s no money left, so our anonymous oped writer can’t get their book deal to prove they aren’t actually the complete fuck-up we all know they are, so this is their creative solution.
The only redeeming act for this dipshit would to be the individual who films Trump dying in a fire and uploads it to Youtube.
Chetan Murthy
@Martin:
Pay-per-view, mang. Make him/her riiiich.
smike
@hells littlest angel:
I am a white HO.
prostratedragon
*obnoxious self regard combined with phony patriotism to help them feel better*
Because of this I’m inclined to think Ivanka and Jared might be involved. In any case, likely to be more than one person.
Not directly related, a coffee boy’s finest hour, from Tampopo.
satby
I wish John Dingell was President. Or Ragnarok Lobster. Anyone but the knuckle-dragging moron who’s holed up in the Oval Office right now.
Bruce K
I don’t know about the rest of you jackals – huh, I wonder, am I a jackal if I’m just an occasional yammerer here, posting from Europe?
Where was I?
Oh, yeah. I don’t know about the rest of you jackals, but unless someone’s got a better idea, I’m taking Mr. Anonymous White House Official and giving him the pseudonym of General Keitel.
(Not Harvey Keitel. This guy shows up repeatedly in Shirer’s Rise and Fall.)
Bjacques
I hope there are plenty of wrong but credible guesses. Unjust accusations of disloyalty and/or summary firing is/are the least anyone working in the WH deserves.
sm*t cl*de
@Bruce K:
He ain’t no Admiral Canaris.
satby
@Bjacques: come sit by me.
EZSmirkzz
Just curious about when it is appropriate to call someone a dick or pussy here at BJ, so as not to offend any of the aforementioned here at BJ.
Barbara
@EZSmirkzz: Why don’t you stretch and try to say something wittier than name calling? Lurking is also honorable.
Ken
@Chris T.: What if they’re all part of the “conspiracy” but don’t know it? That is, each person is doing these little things to block Trump on their own or with just a couple others, and have/had no idea everyone else was doing the same?
I’d say “great minds think alike”, but in this case it’s more like the Three Stooges short “Beer Barrel Polecats”: “We all put the yeast in the beer.”
different-churh-lady
@EZSmirkzz:
Just go ahead and offend us. It’s what we live for.
randy khan
@Calouste:
If the Cabinet and VP were to invoke the 25th Amendment, the politics of the situation already have changed significantly from what we see today. I’m not saying that the 2/3 majority would be there, but I would be reluctant to make assumptions about how, for instance, Tea Party Republicans would vote.
montanareddog
FWIW, and plenty on other people have come up with other credible theories, I smell me some Yertle. If the billionaire donors are keeping their wallets closed, this was an oped to reassure them that the true-believers are still actually in charge and Yertle’s beard probable the senior official at the bottom of this.
And I do not understand Mango Mugabe’s tweet about the FTFNYT outing the author for National Security purposes. What is the NatSec connection when it is no secret that Trump is a deranged incompetent?
Scott
Maybe I watch or read too many spy thrillers but I could see one scenario where this is a Russian operation aimed directly at Trump in order to sow more chaos in the country.
Barbara
@different-churh-lady: I know I sound like nudge but my ultimate dread is to show up one day and find that the comment section at BJ has turned into Atrios Eschaton. And for me that would be like encountering a big box store in the middle of a national park.
Uncle Cosmo
@Bruce K: You are of course aware that Keitel was such a suckup he even disgusted the other Nazis? Behind his back they called him Lakeitel, from Lakei, “lackey”.
Tokyokie
@hells littlest angel:
Wow, that sounds like old Republican TV game show, What’s My Lie.
Cathie from Canada
I think it is great that the White House Official is anonymous — because anything that drives Trump even further around the bend MUST be the right thing to do! If it was signed, then the author would just be fired and everybody would go back to business as usual. This way, the impact is so much stronger.
Gex
@Scott: Do you believe the NYT is in on a Russian op then?
J R in WV
The NYTimes supported a German — Bavarian — politician from the earliest days of his career until, um, around December 7th in the 1940s…. what was his name? Oh, yeah, Mr. A Hitler.
Even before that they supported Stalin’s government of The USSR Comintern, and denied the forced famines used to depopulate regions of the USSR that Stalin wished to make more Russian, like Ukrain.
So, yes! Why would the N Y Times not be fondling authoritarian monsters today if they have done it for the past century? The past is not a perfect guide to the future, but it’s all we have!
JaneE
The Op-Ed does keep us from harping about all the potentially criminal activity being hinted at during Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing.
I hope the writer or writers plan to retire after they leave the white house. If his identity becomes known, he will not be welcome anywhere. Protecting our constitutional government from domestic enemies requires a little more than swiping papers off a desk. Praising the president’s policies shows their heart is in the wrong place. If it wasn’t written by Trump or at his direction, it still is a little too smarmy to be the product of an honest patriot who cares about his country.
EZSmirkzz
@Barbara:
Just a referential comment. I have got to start using emoticons! :-o
EZSmirkzz
@different-churh-lady:
Lol. I thought the self reference was a clever way of saying what you just said. No offense intended, not even to AL. A response to humor, (poor as it may have been this morning,) with humor is delightful, thanks I needed that.
EZsmirkzz
@Barbara: Not to worry, this is the most civilized of comment sections on the internet. Or something. YMMV