I work for the president but like-minded colleagues I have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.
The New York Times this afternoon published a stunning op-ed, written by an anonymous, senior official in President Trump‘s White House.
Calling the publication of an anonymous op-ed a “rare step,” the Times notes the story was being published at the request of the author, and offers “an important perspective.”
The official — perhaps inspired by revelations from Bob Woodward‘s exposé of the Trump administration that certain staffers remove documents from the president’s desk to stop him from making certain policy decisions — contended that his “resistance” to the president is not to be confused with that of progressives.
To be clear, ours is not the popular “resistance” of the left. We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous.
But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic.
The official then launches into a searing indictment of Trump’s morality, and his ignorance of traditional conservative values:
The root of the problem is the president’s amorality. Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision making.
Although he was elected as a Republican, the president shows little affinity for ideals long espoused by conservatives: free minds, free markets and free people. At best, he has invoked these ideals in scripted settings. At worst, he has attacked them outright.
In addition to his mass-marketing of the notion that the press is the “enemy of the people,” President Trump’s impulses are generally anti-trade and anti-democratic.
The official makes a claim that White House reporters have heard for months:
Meetings with him veer off topic and off the rails, he engages in repetitive rants, and his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back.
The erratic behavior would be more concerning if it weren’t for unsung heroes in and around the White House. 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.
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 official also says that while Trump shows a preference for authoritarian leaders, like Vladimir Putin, his administration is on another track.
They also write that many close to Trump were inspired by Sen. John McCain’s warning that he put in his farewell letter last week to the American people.
There is a quiet resistance within the administration of people choosing to put country first. But the real difference will be made by everyday citizens rising above politics, reaching across the aisle and resolving to shed the labels in favor of a single one: Americans.
The White House offered this response:
