Pence speaks on a mobile phone before attending the Republican policy luncheon in DC on September 5
Mike Pence –
Sleuths honed in on the word ‘lodestar’, a favorite of the vice president. Recently, he described the late John McCain as ‘a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue’.
Others suggested the word – which means the guiding star of a ship – could have been deliberately included to throw journalists off the scent.
This was the verdict of a senior White House official who spoke to Dailymail.com. He said suspicion is not focused on him or anyone in his office following a frank discussion among the VP’s senior staff.
Furthermore, Pence has never criticized Trump in public and writing the op-ed would almost certainly scupper any future bid for high office.
Stephen Ford –
If the use of lodestar was not a trick, others said, then perhaps suspicion could fall on Pence’s speechwriter.
Mattis gestures during a press briefing at the Pentagon on May 19, 2017
James Mattis –
The Secretary of Defense, despite having been a Trump favorite, has repeatedly sounded at odds with the commander-in-chief while discussing NATO, Russia and military strategy.
During one episode in Bob Woodward’s recent book, Trump questioned the utility of US early warning systems in Alaska to identify a nuclear attack from North Korea.
Mattis is said to have schooled him. ‘We’re doing this in order to prevent World War III,’ he reportedly said.
The Pentagon chief is said to have told colleagues after the incident that Trump had the mental ability of ‘a fifth- or sixth-grader.’
On Tuesday, Pence denied the account, saying in a statement of his own: ‘The contemptuous words about the President attributed to me in Woodward’s book were never uttered by me or in my presence.’
Kelly at the White House on August 20
John Kelly –
The White House chief of staff was also quoted in Woodward’s book as having called Trump an ‘idiot’.
‘It’s pointless to try to convince him of anything. He’s gone off the rails,’ he allegedly said.
‘We’re in Crazytown. I don’t even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I’ve ever had.’
Kelly denied making the claims in a statement put out by the White House.
‘The idea that I ever called the President is not true, in fact it’s exactly the opposite,’ he said. ‘This is both a pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from his many successes.’
Sessions speaks about immigration and law enforcement at Lackawanna College on June 15, 2018
Jeff Sessions –
The Attorney General has a motive, having been repeatedly barracked by Trump for recusing himself from the Russia investigation.
Just this week he let loose on him for charges the Department of Justice brought against two sitting, Republican members in recent days, complaining that the indictments handicapped the incumbents and jeopardized the GOP’s standing in the House.
The president also compared Sessions unfavorably to FBI director he fired, ‘Lyin’ James Comey,’ saying they’d become martyrs to the very same lawmakers who’d previously despised them after resisting orders from Trump.
This week, the Attorney General also found out the president had called him ‘mentally retarded’, according to Woodward. Trump denied having said this.
Coats addresses the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on July 19
Dan Coats –
The director of national intelligence, was also put forward as a candidate, having previously veered from the Trump line.
Told of the president’s plan to invite Vladimir Putin to the White House, Coats said ‘That is going to special’ – a comment that angered Trump.
He later ‘clarified’ his comments, made during an interview at the Aspen Institute security forum in Colorado, by saying his response ‘was in no way meant to be disrespectful or criticize the actions of the president’.
Trump drew heavy criticism from both Republicans and Democrats over his summit last Monday in Helsinki, Finland, with Putin, when he seemed reluctant to blame Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
McGahn is interviewed at a conference in Gaylord, Maryland, on February 22
Don McGahn –
The White House counsel is planning to leave the White House in the fall so may not fear the consequences of being exposed as the author.
He has also clashed with Trump in the past.
This includes declining his order to fire Robert Mueller, who is overseeing an investigation into alleged Russian interference that the president describes as a ‘witch hunt’.
Indeed, McGahn has risked the president’s anger by spending 30 hours in interviews with Mueller’s team on three separate occasions in under a year.
As with all the theories about the identity of the author, this one relies on conjecture rather than any solid facts.
Melania and Ivanka watch on ahead of the first debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in Hempstead, New York
…Melania or Ivanka? –
The first lady was another (unlikely) candidate.
Twitter commenters noted she had been accused of sending several coded messages expressing opposition to her husband’s policies.
This included wearing a jacket saying ‘I really don’t care, do u?’ when visiting hostels for migrant children.
Ivanka, meanwhile, has previously said she would work to get her voice heard through her father but has seemingly failed to do so – particularly in the case of family separations, which she was ‘vehemently’ opposed to.
Her husband, Jared, is a senior adviser and also could be involved, some have said. That said, the idea the writer came from within the Trump family seems unlikely.