Anthony Scaramucci made millions as a Wall Street wunderkind. But his place in the public consciousness will forever be defined by the meteoric rise and spectacular flameout of his 11-day career as a member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet in late July 2017.
Introduced as a one-time “little Italian kid from Long Island,” “the Mooch” attracted a standing-room-only (and student-only) crowd at Sacred Heart University’s Martire Center Monday afternoon for “A Conversation with Anthony Scaramucci.” Presented by the Dean’s Leadership Series of SHU’s Jack Welch College of Business, the event was billed as an opportunity for business students to probe the brain that built SkyBridge Capital into a $2 billion hedge-fund powerhouse.
It was also an opportunity to sell a few copies of his new book, Trump: The Blue-Collar President, published in October by the Center Street imprint of Hachette. (The first 60 students to show up for the talk received free copies, and Scaramucci stuck around afterward for a book-signing and chitchat.)
His Wall Street success notwithstanding, Scaramucci first entered the broader public consciousness in 2010 during a live CNBC town-hall broadcast when he asked President Barack Obama, “When are you going to stop whacking at the Wall Street pinata?” The President was visibly annoyed by the question, and Scaramucci was pilloried in what has since become known as the “mainstream media” as an out-of-touch Wall Street elitist. (For his part Obama was well on his way toward a midterm electoral evisceration that November.)
Given the ostensible business context of his talk, the Mooch obliged with best-foot-forward bromides for the bright, shiny SHU business students: “Dare to be yourself.” “Dare to take risks.” And, above all: “Get used to not caring, and you’ll be blown away by how successful you are — and how much money you make.”
But during the unscripted Q&A that followed his 30-minute “conversation,” the SHU students (at least half of whom prefaced their questions by thanking Scaramucci for being there) naturally focused on his tumultuous (and, as it turned out, brief) stint as White House communications director and unofficial economic advisor during Trump’s first summer in office. On July 21, 2017 he was introduced during a Rose Garden press conference; on July 31 he was “unceremoniously but perhaps justifiably fired,” he puts it now.
Of the President’’s electoral prospects in 2020, Scaramucci said he thought it was “likely” that Trump would be reelected. Throughout history, he said, “It’s almost impossible to unseat a sitting President in a rising economy.” (A notable exception being George H.W. Bush in 1992, when the 19 percent of votes attracted by third-party candidate H. Ross Perot were siphoned off mainly from Bush, sending Bill Clinton to the White House with only 43 percent of ballots cast.)
Beyond the buoyant U.S. economy, Trump’s advantages entering the 2020 campaign include his fundraising muscle: The President has already raised $350 million for his reelection war chest, Scaramucci said, and it was likely he would have as much as $1.5 billion in the bank before campaigning begins in earnest.
Then there’s Trump’s sheer take-no-prisoners toughness as a campaigner, he said. “Remember, this is a guy who absolutely slayed 17 or 18 established [GOP] politicians” during the 2016 Republican primary campaign, Scaramucci said. “Whoever is [the Democrat] running against him will have an instantly recognizable nickname for the rest of their life.” Just ask “Crooked Hillary,” or a certain U.S. senator from the Bay State.
Scaramucci conceded that, given the prevailing political winds on many if not most campuses these days, he likely wouldn’t have been allowed to speak at other New England colleges — including his alma mater, Tufts — ”because I support the President.”
SHU Athletic Director (and former New York Mets Manager) Bobby Valentine introduced Scaramucci’s talk. Afterward a reporter asked him why the “little kid from Long Island” was welcomed with open arms at SHU, but just 18 miles away would never have been allowed anywhere near a live microphone at, for instance, Yale.
“Well, if Yale doesn’t have this kind of curiosity on their campus, then they’re not recruiting the right people,” Valentine said.
Contact Michael C. Bingham at mbingham@newhavenbiz.com
