Andrew Rudalevige admits his first response to hearing about the now-infamous anonymous op-ed published by the New York Times last week, was “wow.” Writing in The Washington Post political science blog, The Monkey Cage, the Thomas Brackett Reed Professor of Government explains what is so unprecedented about the publication of this piece, in which someone described as a senior White House staffer denounced the president and declared himself, or herself, part of the “internal resistance” to President Donald Trump.

While infighting at the White House is not unheard of, and the leaking of information “is a bespoke Washington currency,” writes Rudalevige, what sets this latest attack on the president apart is its personal nature and how it aims “to undermine the very person of the president.” Rudalevige goes on to describe the situation as “a national security concern, if not the one Trump claims. A weak president can still command. And if he doesn’t trust his staff, the chances that those commands will be well-informed diminish accordingly.”