July 21, 2017

Maybe Trump Should Have Checked Scaramucci’s Twitter Feed Before Hiring Him

Does the president know he believes in climate change and wanted Hillary to run?

Pablo Martinez/AP

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Late Thursday, news broke that President Donald Trump had chosen Wall Street financier and prominent Republican donor, Anthony Scaramucci, to lead the beleaguered White House communications department. The appointment swiftly precipitated the resignation of press secretary Sean Spicer who, along with senior aides Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon, is said to have vehemently objected to Scaramucci’s hiring. White House officials told the Daily Beast that some fear the incoming communications lead will do nothing to change the image of “amateur hour” in the West Wing. 

So, who is the man known as “the Mooch?”  

First of all, he’s a major Trump fan. “I love the president and I’m very, very loyal to the president,” Scaramucci said at Friday’s press briefing, where he was officially introduced to reporters. “I love the mission the president has.”

He also addressed a 2015 appearance on Fox News (you can watch below), where he bashed Trump as “anti-American” and criticized the then-presidential candidate’s rhetoric about women.

“Mr. President if you’re listening, I personally apologize for the 50th time for saying that,” Scaramucci said.

While Scaramucci on Friday said his primary goal is to promote the president’s agenda, it appears as though he has a surprising history of statements that appear to be at odds with Trump’s policies and Republican orthodoxy. We’ve unearthed some past cable news footage and social media postings to provide some context to the new hire:

He wanted an “incredibly competent” Hillary Clinton to run for president:

https://twitter.com/Scaramucci/status/191895567436234752

He backed Jeff Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigations:

He once attacked Trump for being “anti-American” and “another hack”:

He supports gay rights:

He opposes the death penalty: 

He believes in climate change: 

https://twitter.com/scaramucci/status/708131827341533186

He sees Russia as an adversary:

He has expressed support for increased gun control:

https://twitter.com/Scaramucci/status/232349114979975168

It remains to be seen how Scaramucci plans to square these stances with his professed love for Trump’s “mission.”

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THE BIG PICTURE

You expect the big picture, and it's our job at Mother Jones to give it to you. And right now, so many of the troubles we face are the making not of a virus, but of the quest for profit, political or economic (and not just from the man in the White House who could have offered leadership and comfort but instead gave us bleach).

In "News Is Just Like Waste Management," we unpack what the coronavirus crisis has meant for journalism, including Mother Jones’, and how we can rise to the challenge. If you're able to, this is a critical moment to support our nonprofit journalism with a donation: We've scoured our budget and made the cuts we can without impairing our mission, and we hope to raise $400,000 from our community of online readers to help keep our big reporting projects going because this extraordinary pandemic-plus-election year is no time to pull back.

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