There are lots of reasons to get all judgy about the anonymous Trump staffer who just exposed the rot of His White House from the inside for all to see in today’s bombshell-historic-I-can’t-even opinion piece in the New York Times.
Cowardly. Complicit. Aiding, abetting.
Yeah. All of those.
However, there very well could be a more tactical explanation for how this is going down.
And so, a little thought experiment…
Let’s assume you came to learn how horrible Trump was by taking a job as a staffer in his White House ... how every single day in the Oval Office brought some new frightful episode of his utter inadequacies to fulfill his duties. Even cabinet secretaries were whispering about the potential to invoke the 25th amendment, but decided against the coup that would look like in the eyes of too many Americans. But, you still feel like it’s time to tell the country how horrifying this man is, and that you and others are in the White House working against his worst impulses every day.
And your biggest hope?
That whatever you do would have the best chances of leading to Trump leaving office.
You’ve got two choices. First, you could quit your job and let it all hang out. “Pull an Omarosa.” Grab a ghost-writer and sign yourself to a book deal and get your face on the morning talk shows. Then take the inevitable hit from Trump tweeting that he never really knew you, you had no responsibilities, you were a horrible ineffectual staff member anyway who will never have a future in the Republican party … followed up by the right wing Wurlitzer chewing you up 24/7 for a few weeks on Faux News.
Or second. You could write an anonymous opinion letter to a really big news outlet. The New York Times, maybe. You’d have to tell them who you are … but the letter would be bombshell enough for them to print it anonymously. Write an honest evaluation of how bad Trump has become, but explain that there are at least people around him trying to protect the country from his excesses. Then, keep your head down at work, lie about ever having anything to do with the letter, and keep doing what you’re doing. Because, a letter like that is going to start like a big rock pushed downhill …
You know the situation. You know Donald Trump. You know what makes him tick, what makes him red with rage, what gets under his skin. Which of those choices is more likely to make it worse for Trump? Which is more likely to make the media perk up and lick its chops for a real story? Which choice is going to get so far into Trump’s head that he basically freaks out? That he starts a pogrom across the entire West Wing to ferret out the letter writer(s)? That he doesn’t sleep?
That he gets pissed off and crazy enough to do things that will make it impossible for him to remain as president? Whether that be by resignation or impeachment?
Well … the choice becomes a bit easier when you throw those goals in the calculations.
And believe me. Those are your goals.
…..
In my opinion, the person(s) who wrote that New York Times opinion piece didn’t do it anonymously to protect their asses. They did it because it was tactically the best way to get under Trump’s skin and shut his entire presidency down. None of that would have happened if one or more of them had signed their name to it and quit. Dozens of people have already done that from the Trump administration, and Donald is still standing.
But nobody has pulled a “the call is coming from the inside of the house!” on him.
It’s going to drive him crazy. Loyalty is everything to him. And this letter is a picture postcard of cruel, bone-crushing disloyalty.
And I’m gonna bet that when this all comes out after he’s gone, that’s exactly what was intended.
Having said that, these people are still cowards. They’re just smart enough to know what’s gonna make him suffer.
So maybe we could see the larger picture here and give it some space to work. Because, this is a historic moment in this Greek tragedy of a presidency. It’s when the inside started a war against itself.