“If you were 7 inches taller, I’d be worried,” Trump told Scaramucci the day he was hired, which translates in Trumpeze as, "You're such a jerk you could be my clone but I’ll put you down for being short so you don’t forget you’re my inferior, because I find that so witty." In all events, Scaramucci took the remark the way that it was purportedly intended, as a compliment, and he was thrilled to be a part of Trump's inner circle.
Scaramucci mentioned no less than fourteen times in his first appearance as White House Communications Director how much he "loved" Donald Trump and everybody on down the line to the White House makeup and hair stylist. Then came the tweet by journalist Ryan Lizza about dinner guests at the White House and the rest is history. Huffington Post:
Scaramucci said he felt burned by the interview. “The Lizzas and Scaramuccis have been friends for over 50 years. My dad knew his dad from construction, and we were building a personal relationship. Most of what I said was humorous and joking. Legally, it may have been on the record, but the spirit of it was off. And he knew that.” Still, Scaramucci told me, he has plans to take Lizza out for a beer.
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When I asked Lizza for his response, he wrote back: “I’ve only known Anthony in his capacity as a Trump surrogate and then White House communications director. We are not and have never been ‘old family friends,’ though I think our fathers knew each other, so maybe that’s what he’s talking about. (The Long Island Italian world in that generation is relatively small.) But again, that would not be a reason to suppress an explosive on-the-record interview.”
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According to several sources close to the White House, the president was initially amused by the Lizza exchange but changed his opinion when he saw how much negative attention it was bringing. Scaramucci said he offered to resign before the weekend. The president told him that wouldn’t be necessary, but he instructed Scaramucci to “watch it” in the future, according to someone familiar with the conversation.
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But on Monday morning, Scaramucci knew he was cooked. Retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, the new chief of staff, who insisted that all White House staff report to him, asked for his resignation. “It was a very polite conversation,” Scaramucci says. Scaramucci then went to see Trump, who was unavailable. He ended up speaking with the president, his daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, separately later in the day by telephone. All were gracious, he said. “The president told me he knows I have his back, but he has to try to tighten the ship.”
Roger Stone has been quoted as saying that Scaramucci reminded him of “a suicide bomber,” adding, “The administration is like the French Revolution,” Stone said. “You never know who will be beheaded next, and finally, “As you know, none of us are ever really gone. He still has the president’s cellphone, the president’s private number. Just because he’s not in the White House, no one should think his influence has gone.”
“So what are you going to do next, I asked him.
“I am now going to go dark,” he said.
And then?
“Then I will reemerge.” He paused. “As me.”
So there you have it. Anthony Scaramucci will be cocooning inside his chrysalis and will then emerge as the new, improved, evolved Anthony Scaramucci. This metamorphesis should be interesting.