On September 5, the New York Times published an op-ed reportedly written by a senior member of the Trump administration.  The Times published this essay because "[w]e believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers."  However, this "important perspective" is the same old anti-Trump perspective that has been peddled by the Deep State media since before Trump was elected.  The only thing new about it is that it was supposedly written by a senior official in the Trump administration.

The Times claims that the president "does not fully grasp" the fact that "many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda."  One of Donald Trump's most effective tools is his ability to make his adversaries underestimate him.  They are consistently surprised.  These supposedly highly intelligent elitists never stops to think they may be wrong.  The president is well aware of the high number of senior officials working to subvert his agenda.  He has been extremely critical of members of the FBI and Justice Department.  Every federal agency has its "Dumbledore's Army," a reference from the Harry Potter series serving as a secret resistance force.  It is a name selected by members of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's opposition to Trump.

Anonymous touches on all the anti-Trump talking points.  Trump is mass-marketing the notion that the press is the "enemy of the people."  The president has on occasions praised members of the press.  What he claims is an "enemy of the people" is that part of the media that gives him only 5% positive coverage.  Most members of the media consider a large portion of the American public as "deplorable."

The president "shows a preference for autocrats and dictators."  Anonymous claims, "We have sunk low with him and allowed our discourse to be stripped of civility."  Does this writer recall President Obama saying, "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun" and "I want you to argue with them and get in their face"?  Fortunately for the writer, he may have been stripped of his civility, but he has not been stripped of his paycheck.

What would criticism of the president be like without a comment on his sanity?  Anonymous reports, "[T]here were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment."  Apparently, the president appointed members to his Cabinet who believe he is mentally unstable.  He appointed them.  They were confirmed and accepted the positions.

In an article in the Atlantic magazine, David Frum was critical of the Times op-ed but joined in the psychoanalysis.  Frum claimed that the author "enflamed the paranoia of the president."  Is it paranoia if people really are out to get you?

The op-ed was almost finished, and the author had not yet accused the president of racism.  He saved this for the last three paragraphs.  In a reference to John McCain's farewell letter, the author writes that McCain advised all Americans to "break free of the tribalism trap."  The author claims, "We may no longer have Senator McCain.  But we will always have his example – a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue."  He claims that President Trump "may fear such honorable men."  Again, the author has demonstrated his miraculous ability to read the president's mind.

John Dietrich is a freelance writer and the author of The Morgenthau Plan: Soviet Influence on American Postwar Policy (Algora Publishing).  He has a Master of Arts degree in international relations from St. Mary's University.  He is retired from the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.