Miles Tylor: Writer Of Damning Article About Trump Reveals Himself, Calls Trump 'Amoral'

The former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, Miles Taylor, has come out from behind the curtains to reveal himself as the writer of an Op-Ed on The New York Times in 2018, describing Trump as “impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective”.

Taylor also published a book, albeit anonymously, titled, 'A Warning', in 2019 calling Trump "amoral" and "undisciplined", adding that the president threatened America's democracy.

He tendered his resignation letter at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2019, denouncing Trump and endorsing Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden.

On Twitter, Trump had denied knowing Taylor, stating that he had "never even heard of him".

Trump tweeted, “Who is Miles Taylor? Said he was ‘anonymous’, but I don’t know him — never even heard of him."

He went on to describe Taylor as a New York Times "scam" who worked for "Fake News CNN".

“Just another @nytimes SCAM — he worked in conjunction with them. Also worked for Big Tech’s @Google. Now works for Fake News @CNN. They should fire, shame, and punish everybody associated with this FRAUD on the American people!” Trump tweeted.

Who is Miles Taylor? Said he was “anonymous”, but I don’t know him - never even heard of him. Just another @nytimes SCAM - he worked in conjunction with them. Also worked for Big Tech’s @Google. Now works for Fake News @CNN. They should fire, shame, and punish everybody....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 28, 2020

Taylor, who served as a top aide to one of Trump's homeland security secretaries, Kirstejen Nielsen, said that he was a part of a tribe that worked quietly to “frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.”

Coming out of the dark and revealing himself as the author of the Op-Ed, Taylor said, “More than two years ago, I published an anonymous opinion piece in The New York Times about Donald Trump’s perilous presidency, while I was serving under him. He responded with a short but telling tweet: ‘TREASON?’” 

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“When I left the administration, I wrote ‘A Warning,’ a character study of the current commander in chief and a caution to voters that it wasn’t as bad as it looked inside the Trump administration — it was worse.”

Why Miles Taylor Chose Anonymity

Taylor's attack on Trump continued between the pages of his book, describing the president as a “12-year-old in an air traffic control tower, pushing the buttons of government indiscriminately, indifferent to the planes skidding across the runway.”

He explained that he had chosen to remain anonymous because "this debate is not about me.”

Taylor explained that he chose to keep his identity hidden because he did not want to serve as a distraction, as many Trumpers would have watered down the message in his essay.

Speaking on Taylor's anonymity granted by the NYT, trump's press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, described Taylor as a “low-level, disgruntled former staffer,” adding that he “is a liar and a coward who chose anonymity over action and leaking over leading. He was ineffective and incompetent during his time as D.H.S. chief of staff.”

She went on to say that “it is appalling a low-ranking official would be granted anonymity, and it is clear The New York Times is doing the bidding of Never-Trumpers and Democrats.”

Taylor said about his wanting to be anonymous, “Removing my identity from the equation deprives him of an opportunity to create a distraction. What will he do when there is no person to attack, only an idea?

“some people consider it questionable to levy such serious charges against a sitting president under the cover of anonymity.” But he said his decision was justified.

“Issuing my critiques without attribution forced the president to answer them directly on their merits or not at all, rather than creating distractions through petty insults and name-calling,” Mr. Taylor wrote. “I wanted the attention to be on the arguments themselves. At the time I asked, ‘What will he do when there is no person to attack, only an idea?’ We got the answer. He became unhinged. And the ideas stood on their own two feet.”

Defending the decision by the NYT to protect the identity of the writer, spokesperson for the Times, Danielle Rhoades, said, “We take seriously our obligations to protect sources.

“Many important stories in sensitive areas like politics, national security, and business could never be reported if our journalists violated that trust. In this case, however, the writer has personally waived our agreement to keep his identity confidential. We can confirm that he is the author of the Anonymous op-ed. We don’t plan to comment further.”