Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said White House staff were setting him up to fail after he was installed as communications director.
“There were one to two people that wanted me in that job and probably 200 people that didn’t,” he said. “The odds were stacked against me in the job. There were leaks and a repetitive process to try to dislodge me.”
Scaramucci only lasted 10 days in the job and was a controversial choice for the role. President Trump liked his performances as a surrogate on TV, but he was so disliked by people inside the White House that then-press secretary Sean Spicer resigned rather than work for Scaramucci.
During his time in the role, Scaramucci threatened to fire all White House staff, undermined then-chief of staff Reince Priebus and angered much of Trump’s senior staff, according to reports.
Scaramucci apologized for a profane tirade in an interview with the New Yorker that helped hasten the end of his tenure. But, he quickly blamed the reporter for mischaracterizing his views in an interview where he criticized both former chief of staff Reince Priebus and senior adviser Steve Bannon.
“I thought it was off the record,” Scaramucci said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
But, host George Stephanopoulos quickly interjected Scaramucci didn’t ask to be off the record for the interview.
“This is the reason why the media gets a bad shake with the American people. It was a very deceitful thing that he did,” Scaramucci said.
Scaramucci quickly pivoted to say New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza “didn’t need to do that to me.”
“I made a mistake. I am accountable for that mistake,” he said.
Scaramucci also criticized chief strategist Steve Bannon for moving Trump too far to the right.
Trump has to move “more to the mainstream,” he said.
When asked whether Bannon should be let go, Scaramucci responded that it was Trump’s decision.
