The White House and President Donald Trump have launched a scathing attack against the New York Times and the writer of an anonymous opinion piece outlining the existence of a “resistance” within the Trump administration.
In the piece, titled “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration,” the writer — a senior White House official — claimed to be part of a larger group of officials actively working to save the administration from its volatile leader.
The op-ed detailed Trump’s erratic behaviour, described the challenges faced by his staff and attempted to assure Americans that “there are adults in the room” fighting to help the administration succeed despite Trump’s decisions.
READ MORE: In rare anonymous NYT op-ed, senior Trump official details White House ‘resistance’ movement
WATCH: An anonymous White House insider has written to the New York Times to sound the alarm on U.S. President Donald Trump’s “erratic” and “amoral” behaviour. As Eric Sorensen reports, in the stunning op-ed, the author describes a circle of insiders determined to shield against the worst of Trump’s impulses and excesses. And Jackson Proskow has Trump’s reaction.
Trump labelled the piece a “gutless editorial” and “really a disgrace,” in remarks made during an event with sheriffs at the White House.
“They don’t like Donald Trump and I don’t like them because they’re very dishonest people,” Trump said of the New York Times.
Trump then took to Twitter, publishing a single-word tweet that appeared to describe his interpretation of his renegade official’s anonymous op-ed.
He then raised the stakes further, saying that the New York Times should turn the official over to the government to protect national security.
“Does the so-called ‘Senior Administration Official’ really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source?” Trump wrote in another tweet. “If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!”
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement earlier Wednesday pointing out that Trump handily won the 2016 presidential election thanks to the support of nearly 62 million voters, and that, “None of them voted for a gutless, anonymous source to the failing New York Times,” using Trump’s favourite catchphrase for the newspaper.
“We are disappointed, but not surprised, that the paper chose to publish this pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed,” said Sanders. “This is a new low for the so-called ‘paper of record,’ and it should issue an apology, just as it did after the election for its disastrous coverage of the Trump campaign.”
It wasn’t immediately clear which apology Sanders was referring to, but she said the anonymous op-ed is “just another example of the liberal media’s concerted effort to discredit the President.”
WATCH: Trump tweets ‘TREASON?’ in response to bombshell New York Times op-ed
Sanders railed against the writer of the piece, saying that they have “chosen to deceive, rather than support, the duly elected President of the United States.”
“He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people. This coward should do the right thing and resign,” the statement concluded.
Despite Sanders’ use of the word “He” in her statement, the writer’s gender and identity are not known.
READ MORE: Trump calls on Congress to change libel laws after Bob Woodward’s book
The New York Times explained the unusual decision to publish an opinion piece without a byline.
“We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure,” a header on the op-ed read. “We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers.”
The op-ed comes just a day after excerpts of journalist Bob Woodward’s book, Fear: Trump in the White House, claimed to provide another inside look at the current state of the Trump administration.
WATCH: Aides trash Trump in explosive new book
The book, which is set to be released on Sept. 11., alleged that Trump’s current and former aides have called him an “idiot” and a “liar.”
Both Trump and officials named in the book dismissed the stories as fictional and untrue.
— With files from Maham Abedi