Anthony Scaramucci Says He Wishes He’d Had Soap ‘To Wash My Mouth Out’ (Video)
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos confronts former White House communications director with his own potty-mouthed words
Rosemary Rossi | August 13, 2017 @ 1:08 PM
Last Updated: August 14, 2017 @ 12:03 AM
In his first interview since being shown the White House door, former communications director Anthony Scaramucci was forced to listen to his own harsh words come back to haunt him… while a camera caught his reaction. Despite the frequent look of “yeah, whatever” on his face, he did admit, “I wish they would’ve given me a bar of soap and told me to wash my mouth out in the bathroom and move on.”
George Stephanopoulos of ABC’s Sunday morning show “This Week” scored the interview, and the seasoned journalist didn’t pull any punches. As the much-talked about f-bomb-filled phone conversation with New Yorker writer Ryan Lizza was played, a split screen posted the transcript on one side and Scaramucci’s live reaction on the other.
“For the record, I thought it was off the record,” he said after listening to the exchange. “I didn’t say I didn’t do the wrong thing. I want to be totally accountable for what I did and, obviously, I paid the consequences of having that sort of conversation with him…”
Scaramucci’s connection with President Trump was strong, by all accounts, with Stephanopoulos pointing out that a lot of reports said that the POTUS’ initial reaction to the tapes was amusement.
The former hedge fund manager confirmed that, saying there were probably one or two people that wanted him in that job, and the president was one of them. On the flip side, he said, there were probably 200 people that didn’t want him there. “I made an unforced error that made it easy to dismiss me,” he said.
Stephanopoulos quickly interjected, asking if he thought he deserved to be fired.
“Do I think I deserved to be fired?” Scaramucci repeated. “Well, obviously, I wish they would’ve given me a bar of soap and told me to wash my mouth out in the bathroom and move on. … It was going to be very hard for me to stay in the job given the fact that General [John] Kelly took over [as White House chief of staff]… My feeling about the whole thing is that what happened was sort of meant to happen.”
Scaramucci resigned in July after 10 days on the job as White House communications director following a profanity-filled interview with the New Yorker that made public his feud with former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus.
During the phone call, Scaramucci called Priebus “a f—ing paranoid schizophrenic,” among other colorful epithets, and accused the former RNC head of deliberately undermining him.
However, when the interview was published, Scaramucci responded by saying his biggest mistake was to trust a reporter. He chalked it up to “colorful” language.
Watch Scaramucci’s entire interview with George Stephanopoulos above.
Anthony Scaramucci Out: 10 Things That Lasted Longer Than His White House Tenure (Photos)
If President Donald Trump is to be believed, the U.S. economy is making a roaring comeback. Job security, on the other hand, is a different story -- at least judging from the recent personnel tumult in the Trump administration.
On Monday, news broke that now-former Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci had been given the heave-ho after a wild ride lasting a mere 10 days. In the interest of perspective, TheWrap presents 10 things that lasted longer than the Mooch's White House gig.
Sean Spicer's run as Communications Director (once he was promoted to the role while still serving as White House press secretary). Hey, remember way back last week, when a month and a half seemed like a brief tenure as Communications Director? That was before the Mooch came along with an epic "Hold my beer" moment.
Kim Kardashian's marriage to Kris Humphries. Reality TV queen Kardashian provided plenty of late-night punchlines in 2011, when her marriage to NBA player Humphries ended with a divorce filing after 72 days. Now it looks like a marathon union, when placed next to Scaramucci's White House run.
William Henry Harrison's presidency. Harrison's presidency lasted a blink-and-you'll-miss-it 31 days before he succumbed to pneumonia, making his presidency the shortest in U.S. history. But it still managed to last three times longer than Scaamucci's White House run.
The average house fly. According to the good folks at Orkin, house flies generally live from 15 to 30 days -- still longer than the latest insect to inhabit the White House lasted.
Gary Busey's coma. "The Buddy Holly Story" star and general Hollywood curiosity Busey ended up in a coma in late 1988, after getting into a motorcycle accident. The coma lasted a relatively lengthy four weeks and change, and he probably still got more done during that time than the Mooch did in his White House run.
The Dodgers' recent winning streak. The Boys in Blue managed an 11-game victory streak from July 4 to July 19. While fans no doubt wished the streak had lasted longer, it still handily beat out the Mooch's run.
The 12 Days of Christmas. While Scaramucci's riotous White House run might have seemed like the gift that kept on giving, it was ultimately no match for this festive Christian season.
"Cavemen," the TV series. Back in 2007, ABC decided it was a good idea to air a TV series based on a GEICO ad campaign. It wasn't, and while the widely reviled series deservedly died a quick death, it still lasted longer than Scaramucci's reign.
Scaramucci's second marriage. Just days after Scaramucci's White House appointment, his wife Deidre reportedly filed for divorce from him after three years of marriage -- an eternity compared to Mooch's White House tenure, and also probably a seeming eternity in Deidre's mind.
Pope John Paul I's papacy. The former Albino Luciani's papacy came to an abrupt end little more than a month after it began following his September 1978 death. While that might seem like a short run, the abbreviated papacy, The Mooch's White House run still didn't have a prayer of beating it.
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Let us put the Mooch’s brief-but-wild stint into perspective
If President Donald Trump is to be believed, the U.S. economy is making a roaring comeback. Job security, on the other hand, is a different story -- at least judging from the recent personnel tumult in the Trump administration.
On Monday, news broke that now-former Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci had been given the heave-ho after a wild ride lasting a mere 10 days. In the interest of perspective, TheWrap presents 10 things that lasted longer than the Mooch's White House gig.