Anthony Scaramucci, the recently deposed White House communications director, suggested that Vice President Mike Pence is trying to protect himself amid Trump administration chaos.
Ryan Lizza of The New Yorker on Tuesday published additional content from his conversation with Scaramucci two weeks ago, in which the former White House communications director hurled a profanity-laced tirade against Trump administration officials. Scaramucci’s conversation with Lizza contributed to his firing by new White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.
Lizza says that in the conversation, Scaramucci also targeted Pence, whose team The New York Times reported has been discussing privately a run for president in 2020.
Specifically, Scaramucci questioned why Pence chose Nick Ayers, a political operative with no government experience, as his chief of staff.
“Why do you think Nick’s there, bro?” Scaramucci said, according to Lizza. “Are you stupid? Why is Nick there? Nick’s there to protect the vice-president because the vice-president can’t believe what the fuck is going on.”
Lizza acknowledges it’s unclear if Scaramucci was referring to Pence’s potential 2020 ambitions.
The Times, citing conversations with 75 Republicans, reported that two of Pence’s aides, including Ayers, have told other Republicans that Pence “wants to be ready” to run for president in 2020 in case the opportunity arises.
Pence called The Times’ report “disgraceful and offensive to me, my family, and our entire team” and said the allegations about a 2020 run are “categorically false.”
