Scaramucci — Trump’s scary spokesman
Communications director has made plenty of enemies a week into the job
Anthony Scaramucci was brought in to be the new face of an embattled White House, the man to put a fresh gloss on its missteps and controversies.
Yet after only a week into the job, Donald Trump’s new communications director is threatening to sack his entire staff as he hunts for leakers and has been caught badmouthing both the White House chief of staff and Trump’s chief strategist.
Rather than cleaning up the mess, he has exposed the Administration’s divisions to the world and ensured the behind- the- scenes tension explodes into a public war.
Yesterday he appeared on TV to all but accuse Reince Priebus, the chief of staff, of leaking against him. Hours later details emerged of an extra- ordinary telephone conversation with a journalist in which he launched a foul- mouthed tirade during which he said that Priebus would be soon be asked to resign. The day began with an unscheduled interview on CNN, prompted by his decision to call in by phone.
“The fish stinks from the head down. But I can tell you two fish that don’t stink, and that’s me and the President,” he said, casting doubt on the rest of the staff and their motives.
It was the latest salvo in his hunt for the source of White House leaks. It is a cause close to the President’s heart and Scaramucci has made it clear that he answers only to Trump.
He appeared to point the finger at Priebus, first in a rapidly deleted Tweet on Thursday. Then he further fanned the flames on CNN yesterday, challenging Priebus to deny he was the source.
“When I put out a tweet and I put Reince’s name in a tweet, they’re all making the assumption that it’s him because journalists know who the leakers are,” he said during the unscheduled 30- minute interview.
“So if Reince wants to explain he’s not a leaker, let him do that. But let me tell you about myself. I’m a straight shooter and I’ll go right to the heart of the matter.”
His relationship with Priebus was already fraught before he was appointed last Saturday. The chief of staff was among the voices urging Trump not to bring the Mooch, as he is nicknamed, into the White House.
The latest spat was sparked by publication of an official document detailing Scaramucci’s finances, even though it is available to anyone who asks. On Thursday, Scaramucci was further angered when a reporter obtained details of a White House dinner. He telephoned Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker to demand how he found out he had dined with the President, first lady, a Fox News host and one of the network’s former executives.
Lizza promptly published the whole extraordinary exchange. He described how Scaramucci threatened to sack everyone in the communications department if he did not reveal the source of his information. He also claimed Priebus would soon be forced out.
“They’ll all be fired by me,” he said. “I fired one guy the other day. I have three to four people I’ll fire tomorrow. I’ll get to the person who leaked that to you. Reince Priebus — if you want to leak something — he’ll be asked to resign very shortly.”
He went on to reportedly describe Priebus as a “f****** paranoid schizophrenic” and described Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, in profane terms.
“I’m not Steve Bannon, I’m not trying to suck my own ****,” he said. “I’m not trying to build my own brand off the ******* strength of the president. I’m here to serve the country.” Bannon “declined to comment”. Scaramucci did not apologise for the tirade, but said he would try to clean up his language in the future and that: “I made a mistake in trusting in a reporter. It won’t happen again.”
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Scaramucci “used some colourful language — I don’t think he will again.”
The president’s senior counsellor, Kellyanne Conway, had earlier speculated in a Fox News interview that unnamed forces were out to get Scaramucci, saying: “Somebody is trying to get in his way and scare him off.”