'Anonymous' says senior officials considered resigning en masse in a 'midnight self-massacre'

[dalton99a]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/book-by-anonymous-describes-trump-as-cruel-inept-and-a-danger-to-the-nation/2019/11/07/b6b6c6f2-0150-11ea-8bab-0fc209e065a8_story.html

Book by ‘Anonymous’ describes Trump as cruel, inept and a danger to the nation
By Philip Rucker
November 7 at 8:31 PM

Senior Trump administration officials considered resigning en masse last year in a “midnight self-massacre” to sound a public alarm about President Trump’s conduct, but rejected the idea because they believed it would further destabilize an already teetering government, according to a new book by an unnamed author.

In “A Warning” by Anonymous, obtained by The Washington Post ahead of its release, a writer described only as “a senior official in the Trump administration” paints a chilling portrait of the president as cruel, inept and a danger to the nation he was elected to lead.

The book depicts Trump as making misogynistic and racist comments behind the scenes.

“I’ve sat and listened in uncomfortable silence as he talks about a woman’s appearance or performance,” the author writes. “He comments on makeup. He makes jokes about weight. He critiques clothing. He questions the toughness of women in and around his orbit. He uses words like ‘sweetie’ and ‘honey’ to address accomplished professionals. This is precisely the way a boss shouldn’t act in the work environment.”

The author alleges that Trump attempted a Hispanic accent during an Oval Office meeting to complain about migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

“We get these women coming in with like seven children,” Trump said, according to the book. “They are saying, ‘Oh, please help! My husband left me!’ They are useless. They don’t do anything for our country. At least if they came in with a husband we could put him in the fields to pick corn or something.”

[Kingofalldems]

1. Kick and rec this for Trump and his secret pals.

[NCLefty]

2. We knew he was this horrible before the 2016 election. #weknew

I was thinking the other day what if a bunch of ambassadors resigned to protest Pompeo's corruption and unwillingness to back them up.

[ismnotwasm]

5. Yup.

[babylonsister]

3. Holy moly.

I don't even know what to say.

[scarletwoman]

4. Well, why the hell didn't they go through with it?

This "anonymous" person seriously pisses me off. He or she could actually do the best thing for our country by just coming out and telling the truth about the malformed hairless ape trying to play "president" and getting him yanked off the stage.

But, instead this "anonymous" person is just playing us. He or she can go to hell if they ain't got the guts to come straight out and bear witness in person.

[enough]

6. Agreed. NT

[BigmanPigman]

10. Ditto!

I was thinking the same as I listen to Rachel Maddow who is focusing on this tonight. Speak up and go on the record! No patriot in my book.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

18. "Speak up and go on the record." Are you SERIOUS ???????

They'd be dead in 15 minutes.

If they have a family or children in school what do you think would be the outcome for them ?

I worked for the Feds for 10 years. People have reasons for NOT going public. And in this environment, with THIS administration, how long do you think this individual would last ? It is better to have a mole to document the evidence than to have them be sacrificed and leave us in the dark.

For the same reason that there is a Whistleblower law - protection of identity for the sake of one's security - there is reason for anonymity. Lt. Col. Vindman went public because he felt the time was right to do so. When this person feels the time is right and safe to reveal their identity -- something all of the armchair quarterbacks will NEVER be able to second-guess -- they will.

Patriots come in all forms. Don't be so foolish and reckless as to demand names at this point. Their information is priceless. And so are their lives.

[crickets]

28. Thank you for saying this.

We're all angry that Trump is still in office. It's frustrating to think that people have stood by, said and done nothing, but in this case someone is saying something. It may seem cowardly to do it behind anonymity, but when you're dealing with an unstable mobster, painting a target on yourself is not a good idea.

We do not stand in this person's shoes. We don't know their circumstances. We can play all the guessing games we like, but we really don't know. You're right - even if one feels strong enough to stand up to someone, there are family and friends who could be put in danger, who may not be strong enough to weather the fallout and do not deserve the harassment or harm that could come from this.

Patriots come in all forms. Don't be so foolish and reckless as to demand names at this point. Their information is priceless. And so are their lives.

Well said.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

29. Appreciate that.

[bdamomma]

33. They are

our true patriots, and need to be protected. tRump would depose them. He would he's a sick bastard.

[X_Digger]

35. They're no whistleblower, though. They got out, and now are making $$$.

My guess is, they will decide to go public when the offers for talk shows and news programs are highest.

This is no patriot.

[crickets]

50. Understandable to suspect so, but a bit harsh and inaccurate.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/22/books/anonymous-op-ed-trump-book.html

In a news release announcing the book, the publisher said that the author did not receive an advance, and would be donating any royalties to nonprofit organizations that focus on government accountability and press freedom.

“The author could have easily gotten a seven figure advance and the author refused it,” Mr. Latimer said in an interview with the Times.

It really doesn't look like a money grab.

[soldierant]

63. Yes indeed.

It reminds me of an old ethnic joke which I'll alter to try to take sting out - "The only thing two Democrats can agree on is what a third should be doing for the country."

By definition we don't know who this individual is or how he or she is placed. If he or she needs to play Deep Throat in order to get information out, then it is what it is.

[Mme. Defarge]

12. Absolument!

[Retrograde]

24. Because they were too busy raking in the $$$$?

Look at who his cabinet and senior advisors were/are: can you see someone like Carson or Wilbur Ross or Rick Perry or Elaine Chao or Jarvanka putting the country and principals above personal gain? For many of his appointees, personal gain is a principal - usually their only one.

The Orange One is a great distraction: the cameras and press focus on him while the radical right quietly and persistently gets its agenda through.

[ramen]

45. I feel like the quote the OP referenced is quite clear on this point.

They feared it would further destabilize an already teetering government. I'm not going to Monday morning quarterback this one as I've never been anywhere remotely nearby their shoes, but their text seems (to me) a clear answer to the question you pose.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

7. K&R

[irisblue]

8. RageTweeting tomorrow will be early & often

[RainCaster]

31. Fire up the popcorn

[Sheppard Pie]

9. Rachel is reading exerts right now

I’ll bet it’s KAC!

[bdamomma]

15. Kelly Ann

Conway?????

[Indykatie]

32. I Also Think it's KellyAnne Conway with an Assist from her Husband George

The clever turn of phrases used to attack Trump remind me of some of the barbs KC's husband has lobbed towards Trump.

[Lucky Luciano]

21. Not a bad guess given her husband's trolling of fuckface.

[greyl]

39. NFW.

No fucking way.

More likely KN.

Link to tweet

[AllyCat]

58. Nielsen went through with putting children in cages.

Sounds like a money person to me.

[tblue37]

11. They didn't resign because they liked the nearness to power. They are self-serving cowards.

They also liked the tax cuts and the right-wing judges, of course.

[bdamomma]

34. Like keep

your enemies closer.

[NRaleighLiberal]

13. WTF...why just "considered"? why does anyone have anything to do

with him? It is mystifying in a most FUBAR sense

[JoeOtterbein]

14. WOW!

Thanks for posting!

[JoeOtterbein]

16. Kelly Ann needs to come out on this. It would really help our nation at the time we need it most.

[amuse bouche]

17. OMG...Rachel is reading from the book

Trumpty dummy is truly a moron and the staff goes nuts trying to deal with him.

[Mars and Minerva]

20. It's always worse than you think it's going to be!

Last edited Fri Nov 8, 2019, 06:41 PM - Edit history (1)

And still the bottom third of our population think he's just great!!!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

43. "It's even worse than you think" by David Cay Johnston

[zentrum]

19. Cowards for not resigning!

[ooky]

23. Yeah, nice they "considered". Too bad they were too

fucking yellow to do it.

[ramen]

46. May you never face this decision..

I imagine it's not as easy at it seems from behind the keyboard in an unrelated professional and personal life as it is when you're tasked with desperately trying to hot-glue together the pieces of a once-decent democracy that this tanning bed addicted wannabe-Mussolini turtledick hairplugpile has rent asunder.

If I were to choose between A) just scraping the hot glue off of my hands whilst doing the best I could, versus B) doing that while ringing an alarm bell with an anonymous book, my guess is I would take a little of column A and a little of column B. I can't fault them from this perspective.

[crickets]

52. +1

[zentrum]

62. But, if they had all

.....resigned en masse, they might have made the whole pack of cards collapse. That's huge.

In the meantime, the earth has burned, hundreds of thousands of Kurds have been betrayed, children have been traumatized, the United States is buffoonish in the eyes of the world and stands for nothing any more. And more of the courts have been packed for the rest of our lifetime.

The house was on fire but anonymous decided they could still somehow brew a nice cuppa tea with all that heat.

It's cowardly.

[ramen]

64. They found that unlikely,

and I do too. What's another few (or few dozen) resignations in this dumpster fire of an administration? I mentioned this elsewhere in the thread but here is a list of resignations http://45chaos.com

I just think we are at an advanced stage here, and that resignations are far too small of an action to even make the news. I can't fault them for trying to do the best they can to steer the ship away from some of the icebergs rather than bail entirely. No cowardice that I can detect.

[zentrum]

65. An en masse...

..resignation with a big press conference that describes everything Anonymous describes in his book would not be part of the crowd and ignored. It could have been a real game changer.

Utterly dismissivable now because it could all be made up. The writer has put nothing on the line.

[trueblue2007]

22. Rachel Maddow just read from it. Trump IS a monster. This book documents that.

[Sheppard Pie]

25. Genius Putting Out a Book

to raise funds for the anticipated storm of law suits to be hitting the writer(s) when he,she,or they is/are outed. Rachel said the majority of any profits are going to charities and non-profits, the balance set aside for legal defense.

[Pepsidog]

26. Resign and go on the record, that's what a true patriot would do.

[jgmiller]

27. Staying to "protect" us is laudable but deluded

This is no different than employees of corporations staying to protect other employees or out of some sense of duty to the share holders. All you do when do this is enable the problem to continue, the thing that fixes the problem is bringing it out into the open.

[ramen]

47. I'm sorry to keep ringing this bell in this thread,

but what improves when these people resign? Are you aware of how many officials have resigned in this antijoke of an administration? These guys have got you, if not: https://www.45chaos.com/ , spoiler: the number is not low. If their resignations have done nothing, what's a few more? I'm inclined to take their instincts, as well as their thoughtful consideration that the best they could do was mitigate the immense damage by sheltering us in their place, as well-intentioned action.

Based on this thread, this is an unpopular opinion. But it surely looks like where we stand, from where I personally stand. If we were talking about former officials self-immolating in the oval office, sure, maybe that makes a splash, but a resignation?? I think we're substantially past that stage.

[jgmiller]

48. You have a valid point but there is a difference

The problem is the majority of those who have resigned have kept their mouths shut. The only one of note that has spoken out is Scaramuchi and he's not exactly a poster boy for sanity. You are right if they resign and then shut up nothing is changed, these people need to start talking.

What's wrong with Tillerson? Trump made him look like a fool and yet the guy doesn't say a word, Mattis and Kelly seem to have some strange sense that they are being good soldiers by shutting up. The list goes on and on.

[ramen]

51. Mooches gonna Mooche

Tillerson is a mystery. I can't figure out why he hasn't spoken up: he has no particular political game to lose by doing so. Some twisted NDA matrix??

Mattis and Kelly will most likely speak up when the cheetobanger has exited the building, based on this: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/10/18/i-earned-my-spurs-battlefield-mattis-jabbed-trump-critics-say-he-hasnt-gone-far-enough/

I think there is a reasonable precedent that they are following about not undermining the current administration. When that administration has pASSED, though, I imagine they'll speak up. Too little, too late, many in this thread will say. Though I hear that criticism, I see the structural reason for this approach to the situation, no matter how profoundly abnormal.

[tblue37]

57. Resign and speak out. John Kelly, H. R. McMaster, James Mattis, Gary Cohn, Rience Priebus--

A lot of people with real cred among Republicans, and many who at one time had some cred across party lines (though I never could see why), could have put their names behind criticism of Trump but didn't do so.

[bucolic_frolic]

30. The only thing standing between Trump and leaving office is Trump himself

No one found a way to convince him, embarrass him (is that even possible?), strong arm him ... he has no self-awareness, no idea how inept he really is.

They convinced Nixon to go. They railroaded Al Franken. They kick CEO's upstairs. No one has any influence over Trump. Yada yada. You all know all this. There is no solution. You just wait it out.

[iluvtennis]

38. + agree, trumpty dumpty has ZERO self awareness, zero. But he thinks he is the BE ALL, END ALL.

[groundloop]

41. True.... makes me wonder if he'll be forcibly removed from the White House

Whether he's impeached and convicted, or simply voted out, I really wonder if he'll have to be forcibly removed from the White House.

At least Nixon had the common sense to leave when he was told that the Senate had enough votes to convict, tRump will simply refuse to believe it.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

44. ridicule, that's his worst weakness

He has telegraphed this forever. He comes up with silly grade-school nicknames for everyone he fears or hates. Being ridiculed enrages and terrifies him.

[bucolic_frolic]

59. You have found a weakness

Work it! One and all of us!

[wiggs]

36. THEY SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO OMAROSA! She said it was NOT going to be OK. nt

[groundloop]

37. "put him in the fields to pick corn..." - Hey Dumb-Shit, Corn is Harvest With a Machine

Corn is harvested with a machine called a Combine. Quit showing you're absolute ignorance about anything and everything.

[Garrett78]

40. "I've sat and listened in...silence." And there you have it. Adult in the room my ass.

[Demovictory9]

42. No surprise. He behaves so ugly in public, behind the scenes must be worse

[friend of m and j]

49. Do you think (just from the little we heard Rachel read) sounds like the truth about what

happens in the Oval Office on a daily base? If so why the uproar because the author just signed it Anonymous? We have read reports in the past (leaks) that when Trump comes up with something really stupid, illegal, etc. some aides or even Chief of Staff or Cabinet Officials would just say "yes sir we'll work on that idea" and then they leave the office and don't do anything. they know he is likely to forget about it or know that he we will get on another issue that sees on TV.

The book talks about how aides have stopped him from doing something really stupid or dangerous. What would they accomplish if they resigned or identify themselves? Anything they say in the book would be just more to add to the impeachment and it would probably be too late to use. The Senate is still not likely to convict in an impeachment. The 2020 election is still a year away. I think he will lose the election but he can do a lot of damage to our country in a year.

I would rather have a "resistance" group in the WH that will work to sabotage and not carry out his worst and most dangerous ideas. That is better than the resistance group resigning and leave only people like Steven Miller, Steve Bannon, Betsy Devos, and other really dangerous people that would be talking to him.

Rachel read one sentence than really worries me. Anonymous said Trump was planning something big to save his presidency and that it would really be big. My first thought was sending the military into Mexico to "wipe out the "cartel bad guys" that have been killing Americans". If that is his plan I don't know how the "resistance" could stop that. At that point I think the whole resistance movement might resign in mass just to ruin a Trump surprise invasion of Mexico. I think Anonymous and the entire "resistance group" are patriots who are trying to protect our Democracy from a horrible President from the inside.

[crickets]

53. Something really big doesn't necessarily

have to happen beyond our borders. That is sobering food for thought, and a very good reason why someone might stick around on the inside without revealing themselves. Pure speculation on my part.

[Maru Kitteh]

54. The ignorance is breathtaking in its totality. I submit the corn picker, invented in 1850.

BEFORE THE FREAKING CIVIL WAR. Stupid SOB thinks poor women pick corn in 2019.

Amazing.

[dalton99a]

55. +1. A 1950 machine in action:

[Desert grandma]

56. The man is an embarrassment!

Not just to 60 percent of the sane people in our country, but to all of our allies. The only ones who continue to praise him are those despots like Putin and his ilk, and the 40 percent low information folks in our country who can't think for themselves and depend on Fox for their information. He truly is a moron and a danger to our country and the world at large.

[Skittles]

60. sure they did

[maxsolomon]

61. He's never done any work where he could be held accountable for his behavior.

Shame on the voters he conned.