President Trump on Wednesday called for the New York Times to reveal the name of the anonymous administration official who wrote an op-ed article blasting him.
“Does the so-called ‘Senior Administration Official’ really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!” the president wrote in a tweet posted online at about 7:45 p.m.
The Times said in an explanation that went along with the op-ed — which was published Wednesday afternoon — that it knew the identity of the “senior official in the Trump administration” but was keeping it secret because the person’s job would be jeopardized.
“We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers,” the Times wrote.
In the piece, the official, who is described as part of the “resistance,” said that “many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of [Trump’s] agenda and his worst inclinations.”
In anger over this, Trump earlier in the evening Wednesday tweeted only the word “TREASON?”