A book written by an anonymous White House official claims that staff react to Trump's tweets like finding your 'elderly uncle running pantsless across the courtyard'

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A book written by an anonymous White House official claims that staff react to Trump's tweets like finding your 'elderly uncle running pantsless across the courtyard'

trump white house lawn

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

President Donald Trump walks toward the White House after stepping off of Marine One on the South Lawn on August 14, 2017 in Washington, DC.

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  • Trump officials wake up "in a full-blown panic" over the president's tweets, according to a new book by an anonymous senior White House official who penned a scathing New York Times op-ed last year about a secret "resistance" within the Trump administration.
  • The book, titled "A Warning," was obtained by The Washington Post ahead of its November 19 release.
  • According to The Post, the book alleges that White House officials reacted to Trump's late-night Twitter rants with shock and embarrassment.
  • "It's like showing up at the nursing home at daybreak to find your elderly uncle running pantsless across the courtyard and cursing loudly about the cafeteria food, as worried attendants tried to catch him," the anonymous author wrote.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Senior White House officials would apparently wake up "in a full-blown panic" over the president's tweets, a new book, penned by the same anonymous White House official who penned a scathing New York Times op-ed last year, alleges.

The anonymous author who describes themself as "a senior official in the Trump administration" - though it's unclear if they are a current or former official - has penned a new book called "A Warning," which comes out on November 19.

The Washington Post obtained a copy of the book ahead of its release. And the book uses an unusual anecdote to describe how White House officials react in the mornings following President Donald Trump late-night Twitter rants.

"It's like showing up at the nursing home at daybreak to find your elderly uncle running pantsless across the courtyard and cursing loudly about the cafeteria food, as worried attendants tried to catch him," the author writes, according to The Post. "You're stunned, amused, and embarrassed all at the same time."

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"Only your uncle probably wouldn't do it every single day, his words aren't broadcast to the public, and he doesn't have to lead the US government once he puts his pants on," the author continues.

The anonymous author penned an op-ed in September 2018 titled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration," which described a "quiet resistance" of officials in the White House working to counter Trump's impulsive tendencies.

"Many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations," the author wrote in 2018.

Following the op-ed's publication, scores of Trump officials publicly came out and denied writing the piece. Trump described the article as "treason?" and called the author "gutless."

According to The Post, the anonymous author makes a number of eyebrow-raising claims, including that senior Trump officials considered quitting en masse last year in a "midnight self massacre" and that Trump attempted to put on a Hispanic accent during an Oval Office meeting about migrants at the US border.

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White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham told The Post that the author was a "coward" and decried the book as a "work of fiction." The Department of Justice also sent a letter to the publishers, CNN reported, warning that the author could be violating "one or more nondisclosure agreements."

In 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump aides suggested vetting the president's tweets before they were sent out "so that tweets 'don't go from the president's mind out to the universe.'"

Earlier this week, The New York Times analyzed Trump's more than 11,000 tweets since he became president and found that he mainly used Twitter to attack critics or praise himself.

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