Anthony Scaramucci says he can turn me Trump Orange.
“He buys these very large burnt orange tubes from a beauty supply centre up in the Bronx,” he says excitedly, promising he will bring a few tubes of “war paint” with him when he comes to Sydney in November for the 10th annual Sohn Hearts & Minds conference.
“But if I bring it, you gotta wear it,” he says in his trademark American-Italian drawl.
The Mooch is a larger than life character who plays up to his reputation – part Wall Street, part Washington DC, part wise guy.
But while his big mouth might have got him sacked as White House communications director after just 11 days in Donald Trump’s first administration, there’s no mistaking the fact that Scaramucci is also extremely insightful about politics, macro and markets. And he’s also clearly a bit torn on his old boss.
Yes, Scaramucci has become a strident critic of the US president, who he variously describes as nuts, a liar and a grifter during our conversation. But the problem with Trump, Scaramucci concedes, is that there are kernels of truth in what he says.
For example, Trump has overplayed his hand on trade, Scaramucci says, but the idea of using very targeted tariffs against China in areas of economic or national security is entirely reasonable.
And Scaramucci is full of praise for “one of the better presidential speeches I’ve heard in 20 years” that Trump gave in Saudi Arabia last week, where the president rejected the neoconservative, liberal internationalist maxims of Republicans like George W. Bush.
“But up against that, he wants a $US400 million plane,” Scaramucci says of the gift offered to Trump by the Qatari government. “He wants a f--king lavender rug to walk on, and horses and shit. The guy’s f--cked up. His worst instincts are to take the money.”
Scaramucci, whose hedge fund SkyBridge is a manager of cryptocurrency assets, says the Trump meme coin is a perfect example. Ten crypto wallets made $US580 million on the coin, Scaramucci says, while 794,000 wallets lost $US1.1 billion. “Those are all the rubes that support Donald Trump. Trump doesn’t care.”
For Scaramucci, the tension in Trump’s character that was on display in Saudi Arabia helps explain why Trump’s second administration is so dangerous.
First time around, Trump was unsure of himself, Scaramucci says, and surrounded himself with establishment figures who were able to curb his most outlandish ideas. This time around, it’s very different.
“The spirit animal for the first Trump administration was Jared Kushner. If you know Kushner, he’s a sober guy. He’s a diligent person, serious guy, very calm guy, and safe pair of hands. The spirit animal for Trump this time is Donald Trump jnr.
“Donald Trump jnr is a MAGA guy, and he wants Trump to be Trump. So the litmus test for joining the cabinet was, are you going to let Trump be Trump? Well, he’s going to put a 145 per cent tariff on China, and you’re going to clap and bark like a seal. And so this is a way more dangerous administration.”
Another danger Scaramucci sees is psychological – Trump gets bored easily. Scaramucci says he’s already bored with the tariff negotiations, which have been handed to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and currently appears more focused on finding ways to personally enrich himself.
Meanwhile, the world waits to see what Trump’s next big idea is. Scaramucci clearly isn’t optimistic.
“Trump has done existential damage to us, to our standing in the world. Everybody but Fox News is looking at him like he’s a nut.”
This article was originally posted by The Australian Financial Review here.
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