The New York Times recently published an Op-ed article written by anonymous source who claimed to be a White House official with insider knowledge on the Trump Administration. The Author of the Op-ed, which is an opinionated article not written by a person of the editorial board of a newspaper, claimed that they and other members of the cabinet have been consistently working to “thwart” Trump’s actions.
Many Americans and political officials are upset about the author’s choice to remain anonymous. The Editorial Board of the New York Times and the Author must work together to secure anonymity, and many critics of Trump wonder why the news outlet did not pull back the curtain on who exactly wrote these controversial words.
Many people believe the statements written in the article.“Personally I don’t believe he has control of his office, because no one respects him,” said Morgan Anderson, junior. “Honestly the man has no clue what he’s doing. Don’t get me wrong he’s a great business man, but a country isn’t a business.”
“Anonymous sources are a cornerstone of the press’s ability to get information and should be able to remain so,” said Trena Kirby, AP Government teacher. “However, I do not agree with the author’s decision to request anonymity. Are we supposed to be relieved that someone unnamed is assuring us that s/he and other members of the executive staff are usurping the president’s power?”
The author of the Op-ed openly criticizes Trump’s style of leadership, his manner of communicating with constituents (Twitter), and claims that the White House staff make all sorts of attempts to stop the President from receiving memos, hearing about crises overseas, and more. He or she makes accusations regarding Trump’s involvement with Russia, claiming that Trump makes many decisions based on his friendship with Vladimir Putin.
“This[article] is hugely concerning for me on a number of levels. This is a duly and lawfully elected president. He has certain powers granted to him by the Constitution. There are no conditions unless cabinet is prepared to invoke the 25th amendment. People who are supposedly making executive decisions were not elected to do so,” said Kirby. “That alone can pose a constitutional crisis. The president’s staffers and cabinet members are not part of the system of checks and balances, Congress and the Supreme Court are.”
