White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted out the phone number for the New York Times opinion desk Thursday, and according to CNN’s Brian Stelter, the newspaper’s phone lines have been blowing up.
Sanders asked followers to demand the Times reveal the identity of an anonymous senior administration official who wrote an op-ed claiming to be resisting Trump from within.
WATCH:
“The Times obviously 24 hours ago at this point published it, and yeah, it’s still the talk of the country. We’ve got the press secretary Sarah Sanders telling people to call the New York Times, complain to the New York Times, call up the opinion section,” Stelter stated. “In response, the Times confirms it is receiving a large number of calls.” (RELATED: Sarah Sanders Says To Call NYT For Identity Of ‘Gutless Loser’)
“Imagine working that switchboard today,” Brooke Baldwin added.
“It has been a very busy afternoon there,” Stelter affirmed.
For those of you asking for the identity of the anonymous coward: pic.twitter.com/RpWYPHa6To
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) September 6, 2018
“If you want to know who this gutless loser is, call the opinion desk of the failing NYT,” Sanders tweeted, including the paper’s number.
“They are the only ones complicit in this deceitful act,” she said.
Some of the calls were congratulatory toward the Times, according to reporter Ken Vogel, who tweeted audio of a woman who had called to praise the newspaper.
Not sure this is what @PressSec had in mind when she urged people to call The New York Times general switchboard to demand the identity of the writer of the anonymous op-ed. pic.twitter.com/B2ZMEFya6t
— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) September 6, 2018
Several top Trump officials have denied any connection to the op-ed. (Denials Roll In From Top Admin Officials On Op-Ed)