When Anthony Scaramucci told John Dickerson on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday that he was willing to fire any leakers on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he certainly wasn’t kidding about that.
Michael Short, an assistant press secretary and ally of White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, was fired on Tuesday by the newly appointed White House communications director, according to various White House sources.
As part of efforts to shake up the communications section, Scaramucci told Politico that Short would be the first of many press aides to be given the pink slip if he can’t stop the leaks:
I’m committed to taking the comms shop down to Sarah [Huckabee Sanders] and me, if I can’t get the leaks to stop.
Scaramucci noted that he put “amnesty” on the table during his first meeting with communications staffers on Monday, adding that he warned everyone about leaks coming from his office. Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the communications department has been filled with former Republican National Committee (RNC) staffers, many of whom are loyal to Priebus.
Reportedly, Short had been ridiculed by many of his colleagues in the White House for quitting the Trump presidential campaign, and many were surprised to see him in the White House in January. In addition to Priebus, the press aide was a close ally of former Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who had resigned last week over his objections to the president appointing Scaramucci as head of the communications portion of the Trump administration.
Throughout Tuesday, Short had been telling the media that he is not a leaker and that he believes “the entire premise is false.” He told Politico’s Tara Palmieri that he is simply returning to campaign headquarters for the RNC and eventually announced to the press that he has “resigned.”
He did confirm to Breitbart News:
I have never leaked.
Short is expected to be one of many to be terminated from their position as Scaramucci reiterated that he is willing “to fire everybody” to end the leaks. According to remarks to the press on Friday, the only people who will be assured roles in the White House are communications strategist Hope Hicks, social media director Dan Scavino and newly appointed Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
In Scaramucci’s mind, you only have two options:
You’re either going to stop leaking, or you’re going to get fired.
Will the leaks cease? Many are doubtful of that happening.
Despite his first week on the job, it appears that the knives are already out for Scaramucci in the media.
He has been called a “human pinky ring” by Trevor Noah and the “human embodiment of a double-parked BMW” by Seth Meyers. The New York Times published an op-ed by William Cohan, a Wall Street trader and writer, on Monday titled “This Is Not the Mooch I Know”:
But the Anthony Scaramucci I know and admire was not the Anthony Scaramucci who stepped up to the lectern in the White House briefing room on Friday afternoon. Dressed to the nines in a navy blue power suit, he was sycophantic. He professed his “love” for Mr. Trump over and over again — six times, by one count. It was painful and embarrassing to watch.
His blind ambition was on further display on the Sunday morning talk shows. He pledged to rout out White House leakers and threatened to fire anyone on the communications staff who doesn’t get with the program. At times, he seemed to be speaking only to Mr. Trump….
In a further paean to his new boss, Anthony is furiously deleting his past tweets, in a sad attempt to airbrush away his enthusiasm for bipartisanship.
With a friend like that, who needs an enemy?
For the president, the strategy is clear: have men like Scaramucci and Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to President Trump, two well-spoken, quick-witted and no-nonsense individuals, use a hardline approach to tackle the media, defend the Trump agenda and ensure the president is viewed in the best possible light.
