Pence biding his time?

An op-ed from a top insider is rocking Trump's White House. The President is, indeed, in deep crisis. With all the Intelligence that can be summoned, no one has a clue to "whodunnit". But US Vice President Mike Pence was among the first to make the "I didn't write it" pledge in the wake of a shocking anonymous essay, "I Am Part of the Resistance", that revealed a conspiracy to save America from an unhinged President. Pence would likely pass the lie detector test that Sen. Rand Paul suggested to find the author, but this would not prove Pence had no influence on the thoughts of the anonymous writer. The op-ed, published in The New York Times, notes that members of the Cabinet considered using the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to declare Donald Trump unfit and replace him with the Vice President. Some seem to be sniffing a "soft coup" in the making. Although this seems unlikely, Trump's response to Anonymous, for example, asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions to investigate who wrote the op-ed -- could prompt him to act in ways that would finally alienate supporters in Congress and elements of his base. Thus, weakened, Trump's departure by impeachment or other means would also open the door of the Oval Office to the Vice President. The grave possibility of a crisis that ends the scandal-scarred Trump Presidency could explain the Vice President's remarkable record of praising the chaotic commander-in-chief while making himself scarce at moments of crisis.

Many of the concerns that Anonymous raised in the op-ed, "In public and in private," the article notes, "President Trump shows a preference for autocrats and dictators, such as President Vladimir Putin of Russia and North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, and displays little genuine appreciation for the ties that bind us to allied, like-minded nations." Besides these foreign policy fears, the op-ed describes the ways that Trump has veered from Republican norms on trade and press freedom. But at the core of the critique is moral outrage. "The root of the problem is the President's amorality". The perspective evidenced by Anonymous would be familiar to anyone who has followed Pence over the years and is consistent with the views he espoused prior to joining Trump on the national ticket for the election of 2016. As a calm and highly religious man, Pence is deemed to be a counterweight to the impetuous and profane Trump. In the role of loyal but often absent Vice President, Pence has retained the support of the Trump base, which means there would be no great uprising if he assumes the Presidency. Calm would prevail and no proof would be found linking him to the Resistance.