Why is this news? I think I remember Fire & Fury discussing multiple 'dissenters' like this - people who push back from inside the White House and try to make something out of the administration despite Trump. If I recall correctly the book also mentions that most of those people didn't last long.
Because it's an op-ed in the NYT by someone within. It has a historical gravitas that the other channels have not. It's also the first time that we've been privy to the rationale of "the resistance. The fact that there has been consideration of the 25th amendment is interesting. Also, it ends on a note that seems hopeful that he won't last 4 years. It doesn't make me feel much better. Trump is probably losing his shit right now.So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until — one way or another — it’s over.
In public he is as cool, calm and collected as ever. https://mobile.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1037456816601485316/video/1Trump is probably losing his shit right now.
It's a coup d'etat. If what they say is true, the only democratic recourse here is the 25th amendment, and this Op-Ed acknowledges they've considered it but won't do it. That's a hostile subversion of the Executive Office with intent to control its course - a coup.
Yeah, none of it sounds good. But one process is described in the Constitution, and the other is some anonymous, un-elected asshole making it up as they go along. I personally don't find Pence-as-author very convincing. "Lodestar" seems like a deliberate plant, especially in such a carefully written piece. The Op-Ed also uses the phrase "first principles" which is a favorite of Gen. Mattis. I think these phrases were used to throw off people trying to tell who authored the article. I don't think either of these men (Pence or Mattis) would take the first step to publish this piece, especially if they're favored to take the reins after Trump's removed. It's sets them too opposite to Trump's base too early on. I might be wrong, but if I'm playing a coup, I think it would be better to let someone more dispensable make these early forays - a senior official still, but a subordinate to the POTUS's eventual replacement.