Sarah Huckabee Sanders demands the media stop trying to identify the 'gutless loser' who wrote the New York Times op-ed

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is demanding that the media stop trying to guess who wrote the bombshell New York Times op-ed describing an internal resistance within the Trump administration.

In a new statement released Thursday, Sanders criticized what she called "the media's wild obsession with the identity of the anonymous coward" who wrote Wednesday's stunning piece, saying that this speculation is "recklessly tarnishing" the reputation of everyone who works for the president. She also called the unidentified author a "gutless loser" and posted the number of The New York Times' opinion desk, encouraging people who want to know who wrote the piece to call the paper's editors, who she says are "complicit in a deceitful act."

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But it's reportedly not just journalists who have been trying to figure out who wrote the op-ed. The Washington Post has reported that in the hours following the article's publication, the Trump administration "launched a frantic hunt for the author." President Trump apparently has some guesses of his own, believing that whoever wrote it works either on national security issues or in the Justice Department. Several administration officials have already denied responsibility, including Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

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Sanders previously called on the "coward" responsible for the article to resign, while Trump himself suggested the person committed treason and that The New York Times must turn them over, although he also floated the idea that the article might not even be legitimate at all.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.