Anthony Scaramucci on Trump, Wall Street and America’s Economic Anger

SPEAKER_1 (0:02)

Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio, News.

SPEAKER_2 (0:08)

You're listening to Bloomberg Businessweek with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Radio.

Tim Stenovec (0:16)

We're already having fun with Anthony Scaramucci. He's the founder and managing partner of Skybridge. He's the co-host of the podcast, The Rest of Politics. He also briefly served. Okay, 10 days or 11 days?

There's a serious debate here.

Carol Massar (0:29)

Your book says 11, you say 11

Anthony Scaramucci (0:31)

You're hurting my feelings. I got fired on the 11th day. It's a big day for me. Don't chip me at a 9.1 percent of my federal career.

Carol Massar (0:39)

So it's 11?

Anthony Scaramucci (0:40)

Yeah. By the way, when Trump is trolling me on Twitter and calling me a total loser and all that type of stuff, he says 11 I think he should be the official scorer on that, don't you?

If you start on the 21st and you work a full day on the 31st, count the days. Yeah. 11 days. You don't go 31 minus 21

Carol Massar (0:58)

I did that.

Anthony Scaramucci (0:59)

I said 11 I'm just telling you. You guys work at Bloomberg. Tell the BBC, okay? That's all I'm going to say. No, the BBC is locked in at the 10-day mark.

I actually went to them and tried to make a forcible appeal. Your book is called- They insist that I'm only there for 10 days.

Carol Massar (1:15)

Your book is called All the Wrong Moves, and it really gets into why we saw the rise of Donald Trump. Was being in the White House for you a wrong move? Do you consider it a wrong move as you look back?

Anthony Scaramucci (1:27)

Well, I would say campaigning for Donald Trump. I was with Jeb Bush, Jeb dropping out of the race, and me accepting the offer from then candidate Trump to go work for him was a colossal mistake, probably the biggest mistake until I made the bigger mistake of going to work inside the White House. I would say that they were graduating in exponentially bigger mistakes.

Carol Massar (1:50)

But didn't feel like a mistake at the time or did it?

Anthony Scaramucci (1:54)

Well, by 24 hours into it, it started to feel like a mistake because it was a crazy situation, and there was heavy levels of dysfunctionality. I'm taking you back nine years now, but Priebus and Bannon and Jared.

SPEAKER_1 (2:07)

They were not on your side.

Anthony Scaramucci (2:08)

No, they hated my guts. Yeah. But the funny thing about Priebus, he should just tell you that he hates your guts. He doesn't have to act like Richie Cunningham from Happy Days.

Carol Massar (2:16)

Well, you talk about being like, I'm out there in front and I lay it out.

Anthony Scaramucci (2:19)

No, I said, I'm a front-stabber, I'm not a back-stabber. I'll tell you to your face, come on, I'm a New Yorker.

You guys are here in New York.

Carol Massar (2:26)

Listen, we all have visited the White House. We have a feel, we see it, we see the pictures, we see the president coming out. Take us inside the White House, your first day, your second day, and what that was like. I understand under President Trump and his administration, they were different.

Anthony Scaramucci (2:41)

You have to remember, I had friends of mine that were for President Clinton. I had a relationship with President Obama. I had been out of the White House for 30 years.

In the Oval Office, the Roosevelt Room, I had been in the Navy Mess. I had never been to the Residence. The first time I was in the Residence is when I worked in the White House for President Trump. But it's a small place. You know that. It's not that big. The West Room building isn't that big. The West Wing offices is not big. The Oval itself is not that big. Moreover, the President's study is probably smaller than anything that was at Trump Tower for Donald Trump. So, but it is a magisterial historic place, and it's very well preserved, and there's a White House Historical Association, which I did get familiar with in that short period of time. The Truman renovation prior to the recent Trump renovations, was unbelievably necessary. People don't remember that, but the entire White House was gutted and a steel frame was put in, and the place was rebuilt. Thank God for that because it was really falling apart. But listen, I'll tell you a human story about the president though, because I know I'm at odds with him, but this is a human story. First day I was with him, after I did my press conference, we were sitting in the Oval Office together alone, it was just the two of us.