Scaramucci purges his Twitter posts

WASHINGTON: Anthony Scaramucci has purged his Twitter account of previous criticisms of President Donald Trump, saying he didn’t want to be a “distraction” for the White House in his new role as communications director.

Among the missives that disappeared into the digital ether on Saturday were a post referring to Mr Trump’s campaign as a “spectacle”, another in 2012 imploring Democrat Hillary Clinton to run for president, and a tweet calling Mr Trump ally Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, an “odd guy”.

“Full transparency: I’m deleting old tweets,” Mr Scaramucci posted to the social media network. “Past views evolved & shouldn’t be a distraction. I serve @POTUS agenda & that’s all that matters.”

A bit later, Mr Scaramucci followed up with: “The politics of ‘gotcha’ are over. I have thick skin and we’re moving on to @POTUS agenda serving the American people.”

Among the casualties: a post saying he found the number of people who still believe climate change is a hoax “disheartening”, as well as a tweet arguing “walls don’t work” as immigration tools.

Mr Scaramucci, 53, also deleted a tweet voicing support for “strong gun control laws” that had drawn the ire of a spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association, which offered the president a key endorsement during the campaign.

In a 2012 comment he tweeted, he appeared to back many causes long championed by Democrats, describing himself as “for Gay Marriage, against the death penalty, and Pro Choice”.

Conservative commentator Dana Loesch, in a post that itself has now been deleted, said she found it “concerning” Mr Scaramucci “has a contrary position” on Second Amendment rights from the president. “You’re talking about someone responsible for presenting President’s message to public,” she said in a second post that remains on the social media network.

While Mr Scaramucci has removed many posts critical of the president or contrary to White House policies, others remain. That includes a tweet praising Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the probe into Russian meddling in the election. He has also left up posts critical of the death penalty, which the president supports.