--- description: The 'Late Show' host is pretty confused about why any White House insider would agree to publish the muckraking anonymous opinion piece. title: Stephen Colbert Is On the Case of the Anonymous Op-Ed image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3bd0ee3cce091b4c/698939af8fd2ee37ee35c91d/stephen-colbert-op-ed.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Stephen Colbert Is On the Case of That 'Confusing' Anonymous Op-Ed  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 7, 2018 3:14 PM CUT  YouTube  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 7, 2018 3:14 PM CUT After the _New York Times_ published an [anonymous op-ed](http://time.com/5389795/donald-trump-new-york-times-op-ed-virtually-treason/ "undefined") written by a White House insider stating there’s a secret resistance working against Donald Trump from within, most news sources are calling the piece “explosive.” But _Late Show_ host [Stephen Colbert](http://time.com/5387403/stephen-colbert-kavanaugh/ "undefined") has a different word to describe the piece: “confusing.” “Because if you’re inside the White House pretending to be loyal to the president but secretly thwarting the president to protect the rest of us from him, why would you tell us?” Colbert asked of his audience during his opening monologue on Thursday night. The mystery writer suggested that there are some in the administration committed to tempering Trump’s behaviors. Colbert’s response? That it’s definitely a tough job, “because all of Trump’s inclinations are tied for worst.” “Now the hunt for the author is on,” he continued, pointing out Vice President Mike Pence as a [potential frontrunner](http://time.com/5388483/mike-pence-denies-writing-anonymous-op-ed/ "undefined") thanks to his unusual favoring of the word “lodestar,” which also appeared in the published piece. (Pence has denied writing the story.) “It has launched a frantic guessing game. As opposed to the other games: there’s [collusional chairs](http://time.com/5361925/donald-trump-collusion-manafort-giuliani-mueller-russia/ "undefined"), charade of a [marriage](http://time.com/5371920/melania-trump-social-media-donald-trump-insults/ "undefined") and pin the crime on the [Don, Jr,”](http://time.com/5358183/president-trump-don-jr-russia/ "undefined") he joked. As for Trump’s defense — tweeting about “treason” and calling upon North Korean leader [Kim Jong Un](http://time.com/5388503/kim-jong-un-still-likes-donald-trump/ "undefined") as a character witness? “You can’t have a murderous dictator vouch for you!” Well said, Colbert. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5389879/colbert-anonymous-oped/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5389879/colbert-anonymous-oped/"},"headline":"Stephen Colbert Is On the Case of That 'Confusing' Anonymous Op-Ed","datePublished":"2018-09-07T15:14:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:54:43.978Z","description":"\"It has launched a frantic guessing game.\"","url":"https://time.com/5389879/colbert-anonymous-oped/","keywords":["Newsfeed","politics","Late Night Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3bd0ee3cce091b4c/698939af8fd2ee37ee35c91d/stephen-colbert-op-ed.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3bd0ee3cce091b4c/698939af8fd2ee37ee35c91d/stephen-colbert-op-ed.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"stephen-colbert-op-ed","caption":"","creditText":"YouTube","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5389879/colbert-anonymous-oped/","name":"Stephen Colbert Is On the Case of That 'Confusing' Anonymous Op-Ed"}}]}] ```