Scaramucci hinted that Trump’s disloyal aides would soon suffer his wrath and lose their jobs: “Well, Mauch showed up a week ago,” he said. “This is going to get cleared up real quick, okay? Because I nailed these guys. I have a digital fingerprint on everything they did through the FBI and the damn Department of Justice.” Scaramucci ended the call by saying, “Yeah, but let me go because I gotta start posting some shit and drive this guy crazy.”
Soon after, a message appeared on his Twitter account: “Given that my financial information was compromised, this is a felony. I will be contacting the @FBI and @TheJusticeDept #swamp @Reince45.” Within two hours, Mooch deleted the tweet and, bizarrely, denied reports in Axios that he was pursuing Priebus. Days later, Trump’s new chief of staff, John Kelly, fired Scaramucci. A record for career brevity has been set, one that looks likely to last for decades.
Scaramucci grew up on Long Island and worked in finance before a brief White House career. His political views took a complete turn. He supported Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, and in 2016, Scott Walker and Jeb Bush. Before joining the Trump campaign, he once called Trump a “hack politician.” Scaramucci told me that he now views the Trump presidency as a “disaster,” but quickly added that, as a patriot, he wishes that was not the case. Today, he writes books and hosts the podcast “The Rest Is American Politics” with British journalist Katie Kay. He called Trump an “orange wrecking ball” and a “sociopath reality star.” Recently, on the “How to Fail” podcast, he said the president has become “much more vicious” under Biden: “He’s like, ‘Hey, man, I didn’t steal enough in my first term.'” He’s had four years to figure out how to steal more. “
Wishing his distant successor and record-breaker all the best, Scaramucci told me that after some initial struggles, he found his way. After leaving the White House press room, life resumed. “I don’t blame anyone for the firing but me,” he said. “If you play in the NFL and suffer a concussion, you don’t blame the NFL”
The truth is, he said, “I don’t like this job. I can’t speak for [Zacharia]but for me, the dismissal was a relief. There was a sense of humiliation, but also a sense of relief. “
Why is there relief? I asked.
“Have you ever worked for Donald Trump?” he said.
Not so far. Has he changed a lot??
“I think he’s a lot like he was before, maybe a little more unhinged now, and the people around him now have more lackeys. There’s no John Kelly type of guy around.”
Is the president a nobody to you now??
“He may have age-related neurodegenerative diseases, but he’s the same person,” Scaramucci said. “Age has slowed him down, but he is an energetic octogenarian.” ❖