From 'DC swamp bro' to 'true patriot', here are reactions to Miles Taylor being 'Anonymous'
WASHINGTON – After Miles Taylor revealed himself as "Anonymous" Wednesday night, Republicans called him a "coward" and "liar" while Democrats tried to focus on the content of his original scathing opinion piece.
Taylor, a former chief of staff and a political appointee for the Department of Homeland Security, announced he was the one who authored a scathing opinion piece about President Donald Trump in 2018, and a book in 2019, that attacked Trump's leadership and described dysfunction within the administration.
'Anonymous' revealed: Former aide Miles Taylor says he wrote scathing opinion piece on Donald Trump
Taylor had already publicly endorsed Democratic nominee Joe Biden in August, becoming one of the highest-ranking former officials from the Trump administration to back the former Vice President at the time.
In a statement Wednesday, Taylor explained he anonymously wrote the op-ed as a way to get the White House to focus on the content of what he was saying about the danger he thought Trump posed, rather than focus on him: "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."
More: Joe Biden leads Donald Trump, 48% to 43% in key battleground state of Wisconsin: Marquette Poll
Republicans were not impressed by the reveal, with a statement from White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany calling Taylor a "low-level, disgruntled former staffer" who "chose anonymity over action and leaking over leading."
"He was ineffective and incompetent during his time as DHS Chief of Staff", she wrote. "It is appalling a low-ranking official would be granted anonymity" by the New York Times.
Our @WhiteHouse statement from @PressSec on a low-level staffer revealing himself as Anonymous ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/29ZjzVQJwA
— Sarah Matthews (@SarahMatthews45) October 28, 2020
The GOP Rapid Response Director Steve Guest called him a "COWARD" who "is a liar."
"Spare the country your sanctimony, Miles Taylor," Guest tweeted.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows tweeted he's "seen more exciting reveals in Scooby-Doo episodes."
You have got to be kidding me. Miles Taylor? That’s who the New York Times granted an anonymous editorial article? I’ve seen more exciting reveals in Scooby-Doo episodes.
What a monumental embarrassment.— Mark Meadows (@MarkMeadows) October 28, 2020
Hogan Gidley, the Trump campaign's national press secretary, called it the "lamest political 'reveal' of all time" and Taylor a "DC swamp bro."
More: There are 6 days until Election Day. Here's what you need to know
Democrats, and Republican pundits who do not support Trump, gave mixed reactions to the news. Many urged focus back on the content of the "Anonymous" op-ed and book.
In the original op-ed, Taylor wrote "many of the senior officials in his own administration" were working against Trump from within "to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations."
Taylor also claimed in the book that Trump will not "exit quietly - or easily" if he loses in the General Election, writing, “It is why at many turns he suggests ‘coups’ are afoot and a ‘civil war’ is in the offing. He is already seeding the narrative for his followers – a narrative that could end tragically.”
Joe Lockhart, former White House Press Secretary for President Bill Clinton, tweeted "the op-ed when it was published was an important piece of revealing the utter corruption and incompetence of the Trump administration."
Whatever feelings you have about @MilesTaylorUSA waiting until the last minute to reveal himself and his complicity with family separations, the op-ed when it was published was an important piece of revealing the utter corruption and incompetence of the Trump administration.
— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) October 28, 2020
Before the news of the reveal broke, George Conway, husband to former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and a vocal Trump critic, called Taylor a "true patriot."
Under-Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs under the Obama administration, Richard Stengel, tweeted it was "inexpressibly sad" that "that every single person who has dealt with Trump, that includes every single Republican congressman, knows Taylor was right."
More: Thousands of Trump rally attendees in Nebraska stranded in freezing cold after event
Senator Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, tweeted it's "a much bigger deal" that thousands of Trump supporters after a campaign rally Tuesday night were stranded outside the event in the cold that appeared "to have caused hypothermia for his elderly supporters than that we found out the name of some dude who wants to launder and justify his actions so he can be at the Kennedy School by next year."
It’s a much bigger deal that the President’s campaign appears to have caused hypothermia for his elderly supporters than that we found out the name of some dude who wants to launder and justify his actions so he can be at the Kennedy School by next year.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) October 28, 2020
Taylor previously denied he was Anonymous during an interview on CNN the same month he endorsed Biden, saying, "I've got my own thoughts about who that might be," but "I wear a mask for two things - Halloweens and pandemics. So no."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Miles Taylor: Reactions to the reveal of who 'Anonymous' is
