The anonymous Trump official who wrote a scathing op-ed about the president just revealed himself

[View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter]( October 28, 2020 The anonymous Trump admin official who wrote a scathing 2018 New York Times op-ed criticizing the president—and followed it with a whole book, A Warning—has revealed himself: It's...Miles Taylor. Wait, what? Miles Taylor served as chief of staff to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and the reason you know his name is because earlier this year he very publicly came out against Trump and starred in a series of videos for [Republican Voters Against Trump](. Twist? In 2018, Trump was [reportedly apoplectic]( about the op-ed, even floating the possibility on Twitter that the suggested internal resistance constituted treason. This is a sort of confusing twist. On the one hand, Taylor has already spoken out publicly, so he gets points for that, but on the other hand, why didn't he just come out as the writer when he first started blasting Trump? Taylor expanded on his reasoning in a [Medium post]( published Wednesday: Much has been made of the fact that these writings were published anonymously. The decision wasn’t easy, I wrestled with it, and I understand why some people consider it questionable to levy such serious charges against a sitting President under the cover of anonymity. But my reasoning was straightforward, and I stand by it. 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. 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. One thing is for sure: He's going to sell a lot of books. —Ben Dreyfuss [ACLU]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [The Pandemic Forced Joe Biden to Think Bigger. 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BY JAMES WEST [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( [Recharge] SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE [World Kindness Day Is Actually a Day. It’s Soon. Here’s What You Need to Know.]( Lightyears from now (this Tuesday), after the polls close, things not named Donald Trump, Joe Biden, the Supreme Court, and human despair will begin to peek through the cracks of perpetual horror we’ve been treated to this year. In that periphery is World Kindness Day, on November 13. What a concept. If you haven’t looked it up lately, I did so you don’t have to: “Kindness” is defined, at least by the language lobby behind [dictionaries](, as “the quality or state of being kind” or “a kind deed.” Some help. If you write a dictionary, don’t use the word in its own definition. The root “kind” means “of a sympathetic or helpful nature.” We’re getting somewhere. The earliest “kindness” in newspapers I’ve found is a [1724 use]( (“abundant kindness”), but it dates further to [1300](, even though, like all archives, those of the news are constrained by the exclusionary practices and blind spots of the drafters of history. There’s a kindness book called [The Kindness Book](. It’s a children’s one. I haven’t read past page 2 because the free [preview]( won’t let me, but pages 1 and 2 are good. I’m going to be kind to myself and lift a finger to borrow it from the library, and if I like it, maybe buy it. There’s also a heavier lift called [On Kindness](, a philosophical and literary look. Don’t worry, kindness is not niceness. Critically skewering villains and false allies is a kindness in the public interest, and is not nice. Not-nice kindness is essential. Conversely, compliments can be misplaced and not kind, and not-kind niceness isn’t what’s meant by World Kindness Day. Sooner or later we’ll have World Contempt Day, World Grudge Day, and World Demonizing Day, and those can feel like every day. For now, mark November 13. Share a word about kindness shown to you or by you at recharge@motherjones.com. —Daniel King Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755