Scaramucci Hired, Then Fired

Scaramucci Hired, Then Fired

On July 21, 2017, Anthony “The Mooch” Scaramucci was hired as President Donald J. Trump’s White House Director of Communications. Sean Spicer had been the acting Director since the resignation of Michael Dubke on June 2. Harvard-educated Scaramucci was the vice president and chief strategy officer for the U.S. Import-Export Bank at the time he was selected to join Trump’s administration. The hiring surprised then Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, who said he did not know about the move beforehand. Spicer, who was told he would report directly to Scaramucci, resigned as Press Secretary.

After accepting the position, Scaramucci busied himself deleting old tweets which did not align with President Trump’s policies. He deleted items regarding climate change (“You can take steps to combat climate change without crippling the economy. The fact that many people still believe CC is a hoax is disheartening”), the proposed border wall with Mexico (“Walls don’t work. Never have never will. The Berlin Wall 1961-1989 don’t fall for it”), and Hillary Clinton (“I like Hillary. Have to go with the best athlete. We need to turn this around”). Scaramucci’s criticism of the future president wasn’t limited to Twitter. In an interview in 2015, he referred to Trump as a “hack politician” who was going to be president of “the Queens County bullies Association.” While Scaramucci focused on erasing his past disagreements with his new boss, Scaramucci’s wife, Deidre Ball, focused on erasing the couple’s marriage. On July 28, the New York Post reported Ball had filed for divorce. Some sources stated Ball did not like that Scaramucci was joining Trump’s White House and was unhappy about his “naked political ambitions.” However, her divorce attorney, Jill Stone, later denied that claim, telling People magazine, “I don’t know where that came from, but it is not accurate. It is a false fact.” Scaramucci was with Trump at the Boy Scout Jamboree when Ball gave birth to their son. He sent her a text saying, “Congratulations, I’ll pray for our child.”

August 15, 2017, was to be Scaramucci’s official start date as Communications Director, but President Trump dismissed Scaramucci on July 31. This was reportedly done at the request of new White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. Scaramucci’s comments about Kelly’s predecessor, Reince Priebus, and Chief White House Strategist Stephen K. Bannon, were not well received by the president. In announcing his departure, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, stated, “The president certainly felt that Anthony’s comments were inappropriate for a person in that position. [Mr. Trump] didn’t want to burden General Kelly, also, with that line of succession.” Following the firing, Trump tweeted, “Great day at the White House!”

Scaramucci’s successor has not, yet, been named. In office only ten days and dismissed fifteen days before his official start date, Anthony Scaramucci’s time as White House Communications Director is the shortest on record. With General Kelly serving as Chief of Staff, will the turnover at the White House settle down, providing some much-needed stability to the Trump Administration?

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