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."

See more

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.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

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.

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Brendan Morrow

Brendan is a staff writer at The Week. A graduate of Hofstra University with a degree in journalism, he also writes about horror films for Bloody Disgusting and has previously contributed to The Cheat Sheet, Heavy, WhatCulture, and more. He lives in New York City surrounded by Star Wars posters.