Anonymous, A Warning

[Juvenal]

Anonymous.jpg
Credit...Twelve Books

Now here's one whistleblower whose identity I'd like to see revealed.

In various reporting, there's some question whether the author is still a senior Trump administration official, but sufficient information to follow up on some of his more incendiary charges.



By Philip Rucker
November 7, 2019 at 8:31 p.m. EST

Double-checking this claim will naturally lead to surveying all current and recently-departed senior Trump administration officials.

[Mountain Man]

If he doesn't have the courage and conviction to make his name public, then I really don't care what he has to say.

[Starlight]

ThIs JuSt pRoVeS tHe DeEP sTaTe iS OuT tO gEt TrUmP!!!


I think the release of this book is going to be unhelpful as it plays into existing right wing nutter conspiracy theories about how the swamp is the deep state who are all out to get Trump. The US Republican base has bought 100% into Nixon's infamous idea of "When the [Republican] President does it, that means that it is not illegal". So whenever anyone in government stands up to Trump and says "you can't do that, it would be illegal and unconstitutional" then in the minds of the Republican base it's that person, and the law, and the constitution who is the bad person and wrong for daring to allege anything Trump wants to do is wrong.

We've already got plenty of books about the dumpster fire of the Trump administration. A few more amusing / nightmare-inducing anecdotes from inside the disaster ridden administration, isn't what the country needs at this point. And the guy's unwillingness to reveal his name just means that all right-wingers are going to discard this guys claims out of hand.

[Mountain Man]

I think the release of this book is going to be unhelpful as it plays into existing right left wing nutter conspiracy theories about how the swamp is the deep state who are all out to get Trump is the most evilest person ever.

And so on...

[Starlight]

left wing nutter conspiracy theories about how... Trump is the most evilest person ever.

It kinda goes without saying, but I don't think Trump is the most evilest person ever.

Trump's not anywhere close to the worst possible. He's no Hitler, no Stalin. They had brains he doesn't have. To be actively that evil you have to be smart enough to enact your cunning evil plans. Trump's just not.

He's just a moronic criminal loser. He's incompetent. He's mentally deficient. He constantly fails at stuff. He has multiple criminal tendencies with regard to white collar business crimes and sexual assaulting of women, and no interest in following the law in either respect. He has no understanding of the rules of government, nor the constitution, nor any interest in or ability to understand the values that US government is built on and the legal limits of the power of the presidency.

It's his incompetence and how much of a loser he is that I find as bad as his tendencies toward crimes and his disinterest in following the law. The US in the past has had criminal Republican presidents, like Nixon, who enacted clever and sophisticated criminal schemes in order to try and break the law deliberately and cleverly get away with it. Trump's not on their level. Trump's mental capabilities don't extend to understanding whether what he is doing is illegal or not, he doesn't care. His mental abilities extend only to demanding other people (or countries) do things for him that benefit him, and that's it. There's no clever criminal conspiracies, only dumb run of the mill criminality.

I do think he's the worst president the US has had, but by 'worst' I mean a combination of incompetence, ignorance, inability, stupidity, illegality, disinterest in law, and a focus on making money off the presidency. He's a small time crook and con man who was elected president by idiots, not The Most Evil Person Ever.

Here's how I think of Trump:

He would love to commit crimes for person gain. He's just incompetent at it.

[firstfloor]

If he doesn't have the courage and conviction to make his name public, then I really don't care what he has to say.

It is about time you did care.

When you have a monster like Trump in the most powerful office in the world, and you want to be critical, it is best to keep your head down, at least until the message gets out and the puiblic is mobilised to action.

And, Trumps vindictive assaults on the whistleblower are about the most disgusting things I have ever witnessed. I am appalled that there are people like you, who call themselves Christian, and stand up for him.

[Juvenal]

If he doesn't have the courage and conviction to make his name public, then I really don't care what he has to say.

It is about time you did care.

When you have a monster like Trump in the most powerful office in the world, and you want to be critical, it is best to keep your head down, at least until the message gets out and the puiblic is mobilised to action.

And, Trumps vindictive assaults on the whistleblower are about the most disgusting things I have ever witnessed. I am appalled that there are people like you, who call themselves Christian, and stand up for him.

Compare the effect of the anonymous senior administration official's op-ed to that of the anonymous whistleblower. Following procedures, with a detailed report, the whistleblower launched an impeachment investigation. This book, by intention, deliberately avoids detailing abuses in order to preserve the official's anonymity. From Ms. Szalai's book review, cited in the o/p.

[Juvenal]

ThIs JuSt pRoVeS tHe DeEP sTaTe iS OuT tO gEt TrUmP!!!

This just proves the deep state is principally composed of Trump-appointed, likewise ineffective and incapable, senior administration officials.

[JimL]

ThIs JuSt pRoVeS tHe DeEP sTaTe iS OuT tO gEt TrUmP!!!


I think the release of this book is going to be unhelpful as it plays into existing right wing nutter conspiracy theories about how the swamp is the deep state who are all out to get Trump. The US Republican base has bought 100% into Nixon's infamous idea of "When the [Republican] President does it, that means that it is not illegal". So whenever anyone in government stands up to Trump and says "you can't do that, it would be illegal and unconstitutional" then in the minds of the Republican base it's that person, and the law, and the constitution who is the bad person and wrong for daring to allege anything Trump wants to do is wrong.

We've already got plenty of books about the dumpster fire of the Trump administration. A few more amusing / nightmare-inducing anecdotes from inside the disaster ridden administration, isn't what the country needs at this point. And the guy's unwillingness to reveal his name just means that all right-wingers are going to discard this guys claims out of hand.

The Deep State is out to get Trump, because what Trump and his minions call the Deep State is nothing more than the good patriotic americans who can see from the inside what a treasonous criminal we have living in the White House.

[JimL]

This just proves the deep state is principally composed of Trump-appointed, likewise ineffective and incapable, senior administration officials.

Exactly, Trumps own administration is the true deep state. That's how dictatoships come to be, they accuse the other of what it is they themselves are guilty of.

[Juvenal]

Exactly, Trumps own administration is the true deep state. That's how dictatoships come to be, they accuse the other of what it is they themselves are guilty of.

I agree with Starlight that Trump is too scatterbrained to justify fears of an incipient dictatorship. He can't even tweet coherently, e.g., covfefe. Taking advantage of the low bar, it's fair to say his advisors are better, e.g., alternative facts and the Bowling Green massacre.

The point is that any effective resistance to the Trump administration would require a high-level position, which translates to a Trump appointment, or an appointment by one of his appointees, e.g. Taylor's appointment by Pompeo.

[demi-conservative]

Deep stater: "It's not working, we're losing "

[mikewhitney]

Deep stater: "It's not working, we're losing "

Translation of the quote -- This is the first President that we in the bureaucracy cannot manipulate into unAmerican politics.

[seanD]

Translation of the quote -- This is the first President that we in the bureaucracy cannot manipulate into unAmerican politics.

It's a really weird conspiracy theory. It's pretty much like the deep state conspiracy theory that Trump supporters believe, only the motive is in reverse. Instead of working against Trump who they believe wants to better America and defeat globalism, they're working against Trump who they believe is destroying America. It's like a counter of the first conspiracy.

I guess in this atmosphere of conspiracy theories gone wild from both political sides, it's pretty much a free-for-all.

[seanD]

It's a really weird conspiracy theory. It's pretty much like the deep state conspiracy theory that Trump supporters believe, only the motive is in reverse. Instead of working against Trump who they believe wants to better America and defeat globalism, they're working against Trump who they believe is destroying America. It's like a counter of the first conspiracy.

I guess in this atmosphere of conspiracy theories gone wild from both political sides, it's pretty much a free-for-all.

NBC

(Emphasis mine)

I am part of the resistance inside the Trump administration

That terminology is right from the QAnon conspiracy theorists themselves about Q.