President Donald Trump is calling on The New York Times to turn the author of an op-ed piece critical of his administration “over to government at once!”
AP reports that Trump was reacting in the Wednesday evening tweet to the newspaper’s publication of a column by an unnamed senior administration official who writes of an internal “resistance” effort “working diligently from within” to impede Trump’s “worst inclinations” and ill-conceived parts of his agenda.
Trump tweets: “If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!”
Trump earlier tweeted: “TREASON?”
The essay immediately triggered a wild guessing game as to the author’s identity on social media, in newsrooms and inside the West Wing, where officials were blindsided by its publication.
The White House press secretary says the author of a “resistance” op-ed published by The New York Times is a “coward” who should “do the right thing and resign.”
Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the author identified only as a senior administration official has chosen to “deceive, rather than support, the duly elected President of the United States.” She also accuses the individual of putting himself or herself ahead of the will of the American people.
Sanders also says the Times should apologize for publishing it.
In the piece published online Wednesday, the official sounds an alarm about Trump’s “amorality” and “impetuous” leadership style. The writer adds that Trump aides are aware of the president’ faults and are working in opposition to “do what’s right even when Donald Trump won’t.”
