Alex Brandon/AP
Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday said he is not behind the Trump resistance op-ed published by The New York Times.
- Vice President Mike Pence's office on Thursday denied that he wrote a controversial New York Times op-ed written by an anonymous senior Trump administration official.
- "Our office is above such amateur acts," Pence's office said in a statement.
- Some theorized the vice president might be the author given the op-ed included a word he's been known to use in speeches: "lodestar."
- The anonymous op-ed claims there's a "quiet resistance" against President Donald Trump within his administration.
Vice President Mike Pence's office on Thursday denied that he wrote a controversial New York Times op-ed written by an anonymous senior Trump administration official.
"The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds. The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts," Pence's chief of staff, Jarrod Agen, said in a tweet.
The anonymous op-ed, which was published on Wednesday, claims there's a "quiet resistance" against President Donald Trump within his administration. The author slammed Trump on an array of issues, from trade to foreign policy, and accused him of undermining America's democratic institutions.
After the op-ed was released, many in the media began speculating who might've written it.
Some theorized the vice president wrote it due to the inclusion of the word "lodestar," which has been employed by Pence in a number of speeches.
But Pence has been known to be deferential to the president, leading many skeptics to dismiss the notion he was the author.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also denied writing the op-ed.
"I come from a place where if you're not in a position to execute the commander's intent, you have a singular option, that is to leave," Pompeo told reporters on Thursday during a visit to India.
Pompeo added that the op-ed must've been written by a "disgruntled deceptive bad actor."
As of Thursday morning, the only people who know the author's true identity were a small group of editors at The New York Times.