by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
Let me be clear — I don’t think it was Mike Pence who wrote the NYT’s op-ed released today. There are any number of reasons why this is the case, one of them being the actual document itself says the person wanted anonymity because they might lose their job. Who is the only person the president can’t fire in his cabinet?
Mike Pence.
Having said that, lets wander through tinfoil hat town and break down why it MIGHT be Pence.
1. The Mid-Terms Are Fast Approaching
Pence is the only person who might want to hurry things up a little bit with Trump and attempt to bring things to a head before November. What better way to do that than to slice the boil just as the political silly season is heating up? What’s the best way to get Trump to quit before November, making you president?
Write an op-ed in the NYT that you know will eventually, inevitably lead to you.
Because we know we’re going to find out who wrote it sooner rather than later.
2. “Loadstar”
The use of this otherwise rarely used word is either a really dumb mistake by someone who writes for a living, or the mistake of politician who isn’t thinking that clearly about how to hide their tracks. That’s why I think it’s more likely to be someone like Pence than, say, a high level staffer such as a speech writer.
3. Pence Would Become President
This would be pretty extraordinary. If Pence wrote the op-ed knowing damn well he would be outed nearly immediately, then this would be a Constitutional Crisis of the highest order. Of all thing things that might force Trump from power before the 2018 mid-terms, this would be it. Pence has been a water carrier for Trump since his selection and for him to turn on Trump in such a manner would shake the nation to its core. I have read the piece in Pence’s voice in my head and it definitely fits his speaking cadence at times. But at other times, it doesn’t.
Having said all that, the only person I can think of of note besides Pence would bet Mattis. If Mattis wrote the piece, then, that, too, would be of historical significance. Anyone else on the Trump team simply doesn’t have the respect and gravitas necessary to strike a mortal political blow to Trump
