The Anonymous NYT Op-Ed and What it Means: An American Perspective

"An anonymous op-ed in the New York Times on Wednesday sparked debate about just how dysfunctional the Trump administration really is. Beyond that, people have wondered as to the identity of the writer."

1)Why should the Irish care?

Ireland, and numerous other countries are fascinated by the drama that is unfolding across the great big sea. It’s like reality tv is no longer just for television, America is turning into reality tv! All around the world people are tuning into this week’s episode of Trump’s America. Unfortunately, in November, the Irish will be greeted by the Cheese Puff himself, on his tour through Europe. He is under the impression that the Irish, for whatever reason, “like” him. There will be much protesting here in Dublin, which is applauded. The plans for his visit are still under wraps, will he visit the Phoenix Park, the Guinness Brewery, etc. But what will he say about his visit here? Will he continue to say the Irish like him? This President is unpredictable that literally nobody can plan for it, which makes it more interesting with this Op-ed being published. Will he still be focused on this while he visits Dublin? Will his speeches be about how he is nothing like the letter said? Will a journalist ask Trump about the Op-ed piece at the press conference?

2)Who was this Op-ed written for?

This Op-ed was written as an apology and an explanation to the wealthy white voters of America. This author says that he/she wants this administration to succeed and that he/she believes that the policies they have already made have made the United States safer and more well-off; but for whom? Not for the minorities; women, African Americans, Hispanics, Muslim, or the LGBT community. This person clearly intended for this letter to be read otherwise it wouldn’t be published. Trump’s polls have gone down tremendously since he was first elected, essentially this person felt compelled to write to the voters to sooth their rage, when it did the exact opposite. It caused an uproar, not only with Trump, but with the average citizens. They are demanding to know who this person is and whether the person has any actual authority to make these claims. Trump took to Twitter calling the author GUTLESS aka a coward (and many other people would agree with him there) arguing that The New York Times has a fake source and if it was real that “[…] the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!”

3)Why was it shared now?

There are many possible reasons as to why this author chose now to have it published. The first, could be that the author felt the absolute necessity to get his/her opinion out before Bob Woodward’s book Fear: Trump in the White House. Or could it be that the author has had enough people judging him/her for their choice of staying by the Trump Administration, so much so that they wanted to write this? Also, there are whispers of invoking the twenty-fifth amendment. From the beginning of his presidency there were talks of impeaching him from people who detested Trump, but they never had any proof. Even though the author clearly states that impeachment should not be the goal, he/she has clearly heard the whispers of invoking that amendment.  If Trump gets impeached would Pence be any better? Better to stick with the devil you know than the devil you don’t know. The New York Times stated that they no longer felt the need to wait on this letter.

4) Who could have written it?

There are several Senior Officials in the Trump administrations, people who can sit in on those meetings, communicate with other officials, who have that kind of high security clearance. Because of this anonymity the white house officials are all up in arms in denying authorship. Dissection of the letter proved useful as the word “lodestar” was noticed. That word has been used multiple times in press conferences by Vice President Pence. Could he have written this letter? Did he accidently slip in lodestar? Or perhaps, that word was thrown in there to mislead the readers? Either way Pence has denied being the author of this letter and claims that he is willing to take a lie detector test (even though those tests are not admissible in court and can be easily rigged). It has been argued that Trump could have written this. Which is highly doubtful, considering that he is a narcissist and wouldn’t write about himself as being erratic or amoral. The only people who do know is the author and the New York Times. The Times did their research on the author and an analysis of the piece before they publish it. The Times were introduced to this mysterious writer through someone they trust, who either of those people are the Times will not say.

5) What could this mean for America?

Currently the White House aides are trying to find the author and Trump is demanding an investigation. If this letter is false (The New York Times claims it isn’t) then it would be easily proven so and everyone will continue to go about their business and wait for the next scandal. If this letter is proven true, it could mean that the arduous process of impeachment will begin, or the administration will continue to hold off for two more years. As the anonymous writer states nobody wants to begin that process. Protesting and civil unrest will continue in America either way as the citizens will not sit idly by Trump or the people pulling his strings turn our country into something that it isn’t supposed to be.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opinion/trump-white-house-anonymous-resistance.html