*By Carlo Versano* It's the guessing game upending Washington: who is the "senior official" who authored the [unsigned op-ed] (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opinion/trump-white-house-anonymous-resistance.html) published Wednesday in The New York Times and claims to be "part of the resistance inside the Trump administration"? Whoever it was should come out of the shadows and resign, Marc Lotter, former press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence, said Thursday in an interview on Cheddar. Lotter, who also served as a special assistant to Trump during the president's first months in office, said that he questioned what "senior official" even means. "There's so many issues of credibility with this," he said. "I don't take too much from it." The essay caused shock waves in political and journalistic circles when it hit the Times' website. By Wednesday evening, social media was ablaze with theories about who was behind such a jarring public critique of a sitting president ー who also happens to be the writer's boss. In the piece, the author said there is a cohort of senior advisers in the West Wing and the Cabinet who have actively worked to circumvent the president's "misguided impulses." Trump, as a leader, is "impetuous, adversarial, petty, and ineffective." "If you're going to have these kinds of disagreements then you should not be in that position," Lotter said. According to the former adviser, Trump's unorthodox management style makes many uncomfortable. But as Lotter explained, "He wants to hear both sides of each story," which sometimes causes friction among the ranks. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a statement in response to the op-ed, saying: "This coward should do the right thing and resign.” The essay was published days after excerpts from renowned journalist Bob Woodward's new tell-all book about Trump began to circulate. That book also chronicles a chaotic West Wing, full of advisers who have tried to thwart the president without his knowledge. Trump reacted angrily verbally and on Twitter late Wednesday. He called the essay ["gutless"(]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1037485664433070080), wondered aloud whether the Times should unveil the source for ["National Security purposes"](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1037485664433070080), and tweeted, simply, ["TREASON?"] (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1037464177269514240) For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/marc-lotter-shares-his-remarks-on-ny-times-op-ed).

Share:
More In Politics
The Former Green Beret Behind Kaepernick's Protests
Nate Boyer, a former NFL player and Green Beret, is the man behind Colin Kaepernick's protests in 2016 when he suggested that the quarterback kneel instead of sit during the National Anthem as a sign of a respect. Two years later, Boyer believes people are missing the point of his protest and not listening to both sides of the issue.
Google's Empty Chair Will End Up Haunting Company
Lance Ulanoff, tech and social media expert, and Ian Sherr, executive editor of CNET News, agreed that Google's decision to not send a top executive to testify to Congress alongside Sheryl Sandberg and Jack Dorsey is going to cause significant damage among lawmakers for the company.
Who Wrote the NY Times Op-Ed?
The New York Times published a scathing Op-Ed written by an unidentified senior official in the Trump administration, setting off a firestorm of speculation about who the insider is. The writer said he and others in the White House were part of “a quiet resistance” to keep the president in check.
Finally, the Last Breaths of Theranos
John Carreyrou, the Wall Street Journal investigative reporter who first exposed the fraud at blood-testing company Theranos, said the former CEO of the once high-flying start-up had a chance to minimize the pain years ago, but instead used what money the company had to hide the truth.
Alex Jones Crashes Hearings: 'I Want to Face My Accusers'
Well, that happened. Far-right conspiracy theorist and verbal bomb-thrower Alex Jones crashed both the Senate and House hearings on big tech Wednesday, commandeering media attention and at one point nearly getting into an altercation with Sen. Marco Rubio. Jones told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin that he was there to "face my accusers." Jones, who founded the conspiracy site InfoWars, was booted off Facebook and YouTube for peddling hate speech, though he remains active on Twitter.
Load More