Washington, July 22 (IANS): The new White House Communications Director, Anthony Scaramucci, whose hiring led to the resignation of Press Secretary Sean Spicer, has wasted absolutely no time in getting on the President's good side by expressing his "love" for Donald Trump, whom he called a "hack politician" in 2015.
Hours after it was announced that he was appointed, Scaramucci stood behind the podium during Friday's White House press briefing and proclaimed his "love" for Trump and his administration.
"I love the President and I'm very, vey loyal to the President and I love the mission that the President has," Scaramucci, who is also called "the Mooch", said.
"The President has really good karma."
Scaramucci, 53, currently serves as the senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at the Export-Import Bank. He will officially begin in his new role on August 15.
A Wall Street personal, Scaramucci reiterated his admiration for Trump and his administration over and over again during the briefing while speaking to reporters about his excitement level in taking over the job. He referenced the word "love" so much during the briefing that CNN compiled a mashup and played it on air.
Scaramucci called Trump a "hack politician" in 2015 as at that time he was supporting Republican presidential candidates Scott Walker and Jeb Bush.
During an appearance on Fox Business in 2015, Scaramucci called Trump a bully whose campaign would "eventually implode". He had also accused Trump of engaging in "anti-American rhetoric". Scaramucci had also challenged Trump to criticise him, saying he'll be the president of the "Queens County bullies association".
On Friday, Scaramucci apologised for his earlier comments, estimating that it was the "50th time" he had done so because the President brings it up "every 15 seconds".
"It was one of the biggest mistakes I made," Scaramucci said. "I was an unexperienced person in politics, I was supporting another candidate. I should have never said that about him."
Talking about Spicer, Scaramucci said: "I love the guy, I wish him well, and I hope he goes on to make a tremendous amount of money." Scaramucci worked the press room for more than 30 minutes, ending it by blowing a kiss at reporters as he walked out.
The new Communications Director's continuous use of the word "love" bothered some, who reacted sarcastically on the social media. "Scaramucci loves 'loves,'" wrote one Twitter user.
"OH in the WH basement: we should all find someone who loves us as much as Scaramucci loves the President," said another Twitter user.
A report from The New York Times said that Spicer "vehemently disagreed" with the decision to hire Scaramucci because of his background in finance, not communications. Spicer will continue in the role through August, after which Sarah Huckabee Sanders will take over as the new Press Secretary.
