Former White House spokesman Anthony Scaramucci has doubled down on criticism of his former boss and called on Republicans to follow his lead and turn against President Donald Trump for the good of the country. The U.S. leader responded in typical style, labeling Scaramucci a "dope," and deriding his short stint with Trump administration.
He made his most direct criticism of Trump in an op-ed for The Washington Post published Monday, in which he described his regret at selling his business to join the Trump administration and how he could "no longer in good conscience support the president's reelection."
He wrote: "The negatives of Trump's demagoguery now clearly outweigh the positives of his leadership, and it is imperative that Americans unite to prevent him from serving another four years in office."
He did praise aspects of Trump's agenda which he believed had pushed employment levels to record highs and boosted wage growth.
Scaramucci said that when he worked with him, he saw Trump's flaws but still believed that he could bring an "entrepreneurial approach" to the Oval Office and help American politics break free of partisanship.
I thought he would govern in a more inclusive way than his campaign rhetoric might have indicated, and I naively thought that, by joining the administration, I could counteract the far-right voices in the room. I thought wrong," Scaramucci wrote in the the Post.
"I broke from Trump because not only has his behavior become more erratic and his rhetoric more inflammatory, but also because, like all demagogues, he is incapable of handling constructive criticism.
"As we lie on the bed of nails Trump has made, it's often difficult to see how much the paradigm of acceptable conduct has shifted.
"I challenge my fellow Republicans to summon the nerve to speak out on the record against Trump. Defy the culture of fear he has created, and go public with the concerns you readily express in private," said I thought he would govern in a more inclusive way than his campaign rhetoric might have indicated, and I naively thought that, by joining the administration, I could counteract the far-right voices in the room. I thought wrong," Scaramucci wrote in the the Post.
Trump himself tweeted a typically bullish response to Scaramucci's latest criticism, writing: "Nobody ever heard of this dope until he met me. He only lasted 11 days!".
[
link to www.newsweek.com (secure)]
United States
