Bookie Offers Odds on ‘Anonymous’ Trump-Blasting New York Times Op-Ed Author

Posted on: September 6, 2018, 12:26h. 

Last updated on: September 6, 2018, 12:31h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

Few love US President Donald Trump more than the novelty bookmakers of the world, and now Costa-Rica based MyBookie.ag is offering odds on the mystery author of a scathing New York Times?(NYT) op-ed about the controversial American leader.

New York Times op-ed
President Trump wants the author of a damning New York Times op-ed “turned over to the government,” but could the use of the word “lodestar” offer a surprising clue to their identity? Or perhaps to a handy algorithm simply hoping to mislead and confuse. (Image: Win McNamee/Getty)

The identity of the supposed White House mole who authored the incendiary piece — which characterizes Trump’s methods as chaotic and incompetent — has become the latest source of novelty betting speculation.

The anonymous writer claims to be a “senior” official and part of “the resistance” inside the Trump administration, working to “frustrate parts of [Trump’s] agenda and his worst inclinations.” The supposed insider describes the president as “amoral” and his leadership style as “impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective.”

That, of course, also sounds like any New York Times editor describing the president, with whom the site has locked horns for years now.

“It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room,” the author wrote, adding ominously that “we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until — one way or another — it’s over.”

Who Dunnit?

The president responded with his characteristic unedited thought stream in a statement from the White House — and later via Twitter — suggesting the article could be “TREASON” (caps his own) and criticizing the “failing” NYT for publishing the piece anonymously.

“If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!” Trump fumed.

MyBookie has listed odds on 18 possible senior White House officials who might have authored the piece. After analyzing the language used, the sports betting site has arrived at an unlikely front-runner: Trump’s second-in-command, Vice President Mike Pence.

Follow the ‘Lodestar’ Word Trail

MyBookie novelty Trump NYT Op-Ed bet (Image: MyBookie.ag
(Image: MyBookie.ag)

The author’s use of the word “lodestar” to describe the late Senator John McCain had quizzical minds running for their dictionaries. It means “a star that is used to guide the course of a ship” or “one that serves as an inspiration,” according to Merriam-Webster.

It is not a word commonly used by US politicos — or by anyone else for that matter — with the notable exception of one man, Vice President Mike Pence.

In fact, Pence has been known to use the word repeatedly in speeches over the past five years. The theory may sound wild, but its enough for MyBookie to have installed Pence as its -150 (2/3) favorite.

But the op-ed throws up several questions. If the author is part of a quiet resistance secretly averting disasters under the president’s nose, why alert the president in a NYT op-ed? Meanwhile, could “lodestar” be a red herring, deliberately employed to sow seeds of discord between president and vice president by someone with a vested interest?

We may never know. Which means this was a very safe bet for any bookmaker to offer.