Ex-homeland Security official admits he wrote 2018 op-ed critical of Trump
Anonymous piece and book slam president
WASHINGTON • A former U.S. Department of Homeland Security official on Wednesday revealed he was the author of an anonymous 2018 New York Times op- ed and later book that excoriated President Donald Trump, stepping forward to urge Americans to vote against Trump.
Miles Taylor, chief of staff in the department until 2019, set tongues wagging in Washington with the opinion article that called Trump amoral, petty and ineffective. He disclosed his identity on Wednesday in a statement on Medium, an online publishing platform, ahead of next week’s presidential election.
“We alone must determine whether his behaviour warrants continuance in office, and we face a momentous decision, as our choice about Trump’s future will affect our future for years to come,” Taylor wrote.
“With that in mind, he doesn’t deserve a second term in office, and we don’t deserve to live through it.”
White House press secretary Kayleigh Mcenany blasted Taylor as a “liar and a coward who chose anonymity over action and leaking over leading.”
Taylor, who described himself as part of the “resistance” within the Trump administration in the anonymous article, has also publicly criticized Trump.
The op- ed and book that followed it, called A Warning, caused brief flurries of attention, although they were overshadowed by a series of books written by wellknown former Trump associates, both pro and con, who identified themselves as the authors of their work.
White House communications director Alyssa Farah made light of the revelation in an emoji- filled tweet. Many had suspected Taylor was the anonymous author for months.
“I rolled my eyes so hard I nearly tipped backwards,” Farah wrote. “To paraphrase Andy Warhol: In the future, everyone will be a Senior Admin Officials for 15 minutes.”
Trump on Wednesday held an in- person campaign rally in Arizona, while Vice President Mike Pence was due to campaign in Wisconsin, where a record number of coronavirus cases has prompted the Democratic governor to urge people to stay at home.
Wisconsin broke one- day state records in cases and deaths on Tuesday. State officials have asked residents to quarantine voluntarily, wear masks and cancel social gatherings with more than five people. Each of Trump’s rallies in recent days have drawn several thousand people.
The Trump campaign is taking all necessary precautions at Pence’s event, campaign spokesman Hogan Gidley told CNN.
Asked whether holding a big rally raised safety concerns given that aides to Pence have tested positive and Wisconsin hospitals are near capacity, Gidley said: “No, it doesn’t ... The vice president has the best doctors in the world around him. They’ve obviously contact traced and come to the conclusion it’s fine for him to be out on the campaign trail.”
Democratic challenger Joe Biden criticized the president over reports that hundreds of Trump supporters were stuck in the cold for up to three hours after a rally in Omaha, Neb., on Tuesday night, waiting for campaign shuttle buses to take them back to their cars.
“It’s an image that captured President Trump’s whole approach to this crisis ... He gets his photo- op and then he gets out,” he said.
The Trump campaign said the problems were due to the unexpectedly large crowds.
Reuters/ Ipsos polling from Oct. 20-26 shows Biden with a solid lead over Trump, 53 per cent to 44 per cent, in Wisconsin, which as a battleground state could help decide the election.
After racing across Michigan, Wisconsin and Nebraska on Tuesday and staying overnight in Las Vegas, Trump was due to hold airport rallies in Bullhead City, Ariz., and Goodyear, outside Phoenix, Arizona’s biggest city.
He was due to move on to Florida and North Carolina on Thursday, then return to the Midwest on Friday in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
In all, Trump plans to visit 10 states in the last week of the campaign and will host 11 rallies in the final 48 hours, a campaign official said.