A former U.S. Department of Homeland Security official on Wednesday revealed he was the author of an anonymous 2018 New York Times op-ed and later book that excoriated President Donald Trump, stepping forward to urge Americans to vote against Mr. Trump.
Miles Taylor, chief of staff in the department until 2019, set tongues wagging in Washington with the editorial that called Mr. Trump amoral, petty and ineffective. He disclosed his identity on Wednesday in a statement on Medium, an online publishing platform, ahead of next week's presidential election.
“We alone must determine whether his behaviour warrants continuance in office, and we face a momentous decision, as our choice about Trumps future will affect our future for years to come,” wrote Mr. Taylor, a Republican who endorsed Mr. Trump's election opponent, Democrat Joe Biden.
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“With that in mind, he doesn’t deserve a second term in office, and we don’t deserve to live through it.”
Mr. Trump responded on Wednesday evening, saying, “Anonymous was a nobody, a disgruntled employee who was quickly removed from his job a long time ago.”
Mr. Trump said he did not know Mr. Taylor and had “never even heard of him,” although Mr. Trump in August called Mr. Taylor a “lowlife.”
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White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany blasted Mr. Taylor as a “liar and a coward who chose anonymity over action and leaking over leading.”
Mr. Taylor, who described himself as part of the “resistance” within the Trump administration in the anonymous editorial, has also publicly criticised Mr. Trump.
The op-ed and book that followed it, called A Warning , caused brief flurries of attention, although they were overshadowed by a series of books written by well-known former Trump associates, both pro and con, who identified themselves as the authors of their work. Many had suspected Mr. Taylor was the anonymous author for months.