Anthony Scaramucci and Marina Hyde: What Comes After Trump? Live from Guildford

Margarita Volpato (0:00)

Welcome to Intelligence Squared, Where Great Minds Meet. I'm Senior Producer, Margarita Volpato. Today's episode is the full recording of our recent event with former White House Communications Director, outspoken Trump critic, and co-host of The Rest Is Politics US, Anthony Scaramucci. In conversation with Guardian columnist and co-host of The Rest Is Entertainment podcast, Marina Hyde, Scaramucci provided an insider's account of how America reached Trumpism, and where it goes next.

Drawing on his new book, All The Wrong Moves, Anthony and Marina explored how decades of mistakes by both Republicans and Democrats paved the way for Trump's rise and explained how America could chart a different course. Let's join Marina Hyde now, live on stage at G Live in Guildford.

Marina Hyde (0:49)

Now, Anthony exploded into our consciousness in July 2017, when he began an incredible career in public service for the United States federal government.

Anthony Scaramucci (1:01)

A long, an enduring career, a long-lasting one.

Marina Hyde (1:04)

Eleven days later, it was over. Still, what a run. Tonight, we're going to be talking about that, his amazing new book, All The Wrong Moves, which you now all own, his career as a high financier and mega hit podcaster, and of course, his skincare regime.

Now, as I say, today, he's the host of The Rest Is Politics US, an open book with Anthony Scaramucci. He's founder and managing partner of his own investment firm, SkyBridge Capital, and this book is asks, which you all have on your seat, it asks how decades of disastrous decisions by both parties created the anger and disillusionment that brought Donald Trump to power. And we're going to see if we can maybe find a way out. Would that be good? It seems like... Okay, but before we get to tonight's question, here's how tonight's event will go. We are going to ask questions at the... in half time, after half time, and there's going to be microphones that go around, and so if you want to think of questions while we're talking, get your heads whirring, and we will get as many of you to be able to ask as possible.

Anthony. Anthony, you love to tell your origin story, and I certainly love to hear it. Anthony, you grew up in a working class family on Long Island. You went to Harvard, you built an amazing career on Wall Street. So you have lived the American dream that you described in this book, but when did you first realize that the path that you had been able to tread wasn't available to so many others?

Anthony Scaramucci (2:34)

Well, first of all, that was a very generous introduction, so I want to say thank you and you know I love you.

Marina Hyde (2:39)

You know I love you.

Anthony Scaramucci (2:40)

And secondarily, I really appreciate all of you being here tonight, and thank you for buying the book. I wrote the book because I am always asked what the hell happened. You know I go to different schools, universities, colleges, etc. And I said, okay, I have to frame out for people what happens is the fall of the Berlin Wall that led to this anger-based populism. But the answer to that specific question, and this really does not reflect well on me, I didn't realize how much trouble the country was in until May of 2016 And I will tell the story quickly. I had worked for Jeb Bush, and Jeb was leaving the race. He got knocked out of the race by Donald Trump.

Donald Trump calls me, we will call him Donald Trump, but this time he is not the president. He calls me and he says he wants me to come work for him.

Colossal decision, mistake number one. I said yes, and I went to go work for him. And so now we are going to Albuquerque, New Mexico. This is my first campaign stop with candidate Trump. Then we are going to go on to California for a fundraiser, which I am preparing for him because I was a long time political fundraiser in the Republican Party.

When I was on the Jeb Bush campaign, Marina, if we had five people in the audience for Jeb to talk to, that was a lot, and three of them were family members and maybe one was staff. And then Jeb would look around and say, please clap, and we would all go like this, oh my God. When I got on the Trump campaign, there were 9,000 people waiting for him at the Albuquerque Civic Center. There were 3,000 people in the overflow area where they had the flat screens. And I was like, okay, this is a totally different phenomena. I have to learn about this. He had Secret Service Protection. They give you these badges to put on your lapel. You ever travel with somebody with Secret Service Protection?