"A Warning" book by Anonymous released

Different readers of “A Warning,” by “Anonymous, a Senior Trump Administration Official,” will likely grow restless at different points. For some, that moment might be when Anonymous writes that, at some moment, his, her, or their colleagues almost made a dramatic stand against Trump, such as in a mass resignation. (“Every time this was contemplated, it was rejected.”) For others, it may be when Anonymous reports that “no one in the Trump White House is a fan of Hillary Clinton” and that he, she, or they support many of Trump’s policy goals, such as getting rid of “burdensome red tape” and cutting taxes. Or it could be at one of the many, many quotes from Aristotle, Cicero, Marcus Aurelius, miscellaneous Founding Fathers and Presidents, Henry Kissinger, Friedrich Hayek, Karl Popper, and, of course, Tocqueville, which, while often instructive or eloquent (who doesn’t like Lincoln’s Second Inaugural?), begin to feel like filler. Or perhaps it’s when Anonymous describes the reactions of the people the author calls Steady Staters, otherwise known as the adults in the room, or, alternatively, members of the deep state, such as when, in February, 2018—the month of the Parkland mass shooting—Trump suggests to his aides that teachers should be given guns. Anonymous writes, “Most sane folks raised an eyebrow. The teachers we remembered tended to be gentler souls like Betty White, not Annie Oakley. We wanted to hand Betty and all of her colleagues a pistol?” Has Anonymous seen a Betty White movie lately? There might be something to learn from the acerbic fearlessness that her performances embody. The problem is not that many teachers are women, or that they are older women—and often tough, brave, creative souls. The problem is that guns are guns.

But the definitive moment of restlessness for most readers will likely come at the opening of the book, when Anonymous attempts to explain his, her, or their choice to be anonymous. This is the second time around: in September, 2018, this same Anonymous published an Op-Ed in the Times, entitled, “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.” In that piece, Anonymous said that these Administration resisters, though they supported many of Trump’s policies, had “vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office.” That was, perhaps, a problematic rationale for remaining nameless—who elected Anonymous?—but it was, at least, a rationale. The simultaneously alarming and tiresome thing about “A Warning” is that Anonymous freely acknowledges that having Administration officials act as silent babysitters doesn’t work. Anonymous now doubts that the course charted in the Op-Ed is “effective, let alone sustainable.” Earlier, Anonymous would tell friends that the reason to remain working in the Administration was to “keep it together.” That answer now “feels more hollow than it used to.” Anonymous & Company “are not bulwarks against the president and shouldn’t be counted on to keep him in check.”

You can read full story here: https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/what-does-a-warning-by-anonymous-really-tell-us