The slick charmer now in charge of sending Donald Trump’s message

It is easy to see why Donald Trump would be impressed by Anthony Scaramucci, a slick financier who went from blue-collar New York roots to Harvard Law School, to Wall Street, where he made millions as a hedge fund manager.

By the time his name emerged as a contender for a role in the Trump administration this year, the fund he founded was worth US$11 billion (Dh40.4bn).

It makes him exactly the type of alpha male with whom the president has filled his White House. Mr Scaramucci, 53,was once a Democratic donor, helping to raise money for Barack Obama, before the party’s growing criticism of Wall Street pushed him away.

The Mooch, as he is known, threw his weight behind Mr Trump’s unlikely bid only after Jeb Bush withdrew from the Republican race, but he rapidly emerged as a sharptalking TV surrogate for the campaign.

That remains his most obvious qualification for the new job. And he is thought to owe his position largely to his friendship with the president and the endorsement of the New York wing of the White House, led by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.

Giving his first White House briefing after Sean Spicer’s resignation, Mr Scaramucci insisted there was no friction between him and Mr Spicer or any of the other of the president’s chief aides.

He has not always been a Trump admirer. While appearing on a business show in 2015 he described Mr Trump as “another hack politician”.

Now he says the remark was “one of the biggest mistakes I made” and the president reminds him of it “about every 15 minutes”.