MARK ANGELIDES
After Sean Spicer’s shock resignation, the first televised White House press briefing in three weeks left reporters at a loss for words. Anthony Scaramucci, stepping into his new role as White House Communications Director, handled questions adeptly and with a style that has put even the most anti-Trump agencies on their back foot. He was smooth, articulate, and confident, and managed to convey the impression that his role is to help the press understand better what Donald Trump is actually doing:
It’s super important to us to let him express his personality. It has been a very successful life experience for president Trump to be president Trump.
He is clearly familiar with dealing with the media and managed to build an almost instant rapport; from the beginning of his opening remarks, the press was giggling along. A common theme in Scaramucci’spresentation was that of love. He loves Reince Priebus, loves Sean Spicer, loves President Trump, and certainly loves dealing directly with a media that has a range of predictable angles.
The Twitter sphere’s initial reaction to Sean Spicer’s resignation was one of sadness. Despite many setbacks, Spicer managed to build a colorful on-screen persona that has created engagement in WH press briefings that didn’t exist out of politic junkie circles. What is most noticeable from the MSM Twitter feeds is the lack of attacks. In the strange and twisted mind of the media, Scaramucci has a history that would ordinarily preclude him from taking this role: he has had public fall outs with President Trump, Reince Priebus, and not an overtly friendly relationship with Steve Bannon. When this is added to his business dealings and background, he appears an unlikely choice. Yet theleftist media vitriol is strangely lacking.
There is reasonable possibility that bringing in Anthony Scaramucci is the beginning of an “inner circle power consolidation.” Scaramucci is without a doubt a Trump Loyalist (despite previous reservations) in a way that Sean Spicer never was, and the last seventy-two hours have been a time of change within the White House. President Trump has reorganized his entire legal team, set out some very visible lines (though not as red as you’d think) regarding the permissible scope of the Mueller investigation and put people in place that he can trust to speak for him. It is a marshaling of forces which suggests that his administration is no longer coming from a defensive direction.
At the end of the briefing, Scaramucci blew a kiss to the attending reporters and left with a smile on his face. His obvious enjoyment of meeting with reporters bodes well for a communications director that faces a relatively hostile audience. But all is not wine and roses. It is likely that after a brief “honeymoon” period, questions will be asked regarding his previously stated support for gun control and his business dealings (although he mentions that he has “cut ties” in accordance with regulations). If he can survive the initial storm, he may turn out to be one of the President’s best picks.
