With just days left in the 2020 presidential election season, former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci is doubling down on a Joe Biden win next Tuesday.
Scaramucci told Cheddar that "weapons-grade-style" propaganda and a focus on culture war issues, rather than his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, are the only reasons President Donald Trump has held onto his supporters.
"He's made us weaker, sicker, and poorer, but he's got a standing because of the way they've set this up as a culture war narrative," he said. "That's why he's still in the race. I mean, he's going to get annihilated, but he's still in the race."
Scaramucci also blamed Trump's own coronavirus diagnosis, and the erratic tweeting during his recovery, as one reason the administration was unable to push another stimulus package through Congress. He alleged that inconsistent messaging from the president gave House Speaker Nancy Pelosi an opening to delay the vote until after the election.
"He could have probably gotten one, but I think it was the unpredictability of his personality that led to where we are right now," he said of a fourth stimulus bill.
On the current polling, Scaramucci pointed out that results have been fairly consistent over the last year, as opposed to the "roller coaster movement" of the 2016 election season.
"If anything, they may tip more into [Biden's] favor because of what's going on with COVID-19 now," he said.
In the case of a loss for Trump, Scaramucci offered this insight on his former employer:
"I think he's going to surprise people because, listen, all that is bluster and overcompensation born from his personal insecurities," he said. "I think if he gets annihilated — I predict he will — he'll give a concession speech, and then he's got to figure out how to work with Vice President Biden."
The prospect of Trump denying the election results is "smoke and mirrors," he added.
Though FAANG stocks hit an all-time high last week, their gains could be undermined by the Trump administration's trade stand-off with China that could soon widen into the technology sector, says Jason Ware, chief investment officer at Albion Financial Group.
The country's highest court on Tuesday ruled in favor of the travel ban the Trump administration attempted to implement last year. The court rejected the argument that the policy exceeded the president's authority and that it discriminated against Muslims.
Letting women drive will make them "good workers and consumers," says Hiba Zayadin, the acting Saudi researcher at Human Rights Watch. But "the power structures and systems that keep women as second-class citizens" remain prevalent., she tells Cheddar.
Police shootings have persisted in America for the last several decades but now personal video footage is holding officers accountable, says O'Donnell. The MSNBC host is re-publishing his book "Deadly Force" that chronicles the 1975 police shooting of an unarmed black man that was criticized as "basically a murder".
The president's consistent attacks on media outlets like CNN is "very, very good for business." But Trump has avoided directing his wrath at MSNBC since taking the White House, because the network "is much higher rated" and "he would prefer people to watch CNN," which features many pro-Trump speakers, says O'Donnell.
The MSNBC host explains what happened leading up to the moment when his co-worker, Rachel Maddow, broke down in tears on air while covering the border crisis. O'Donnell tells Cheddar that if he had to report the story on tender age shelters, he might have cried too.
Markets plunged on Monday as President Trump escalated already-tense trade relations with China and investors saw the first sign of American manufacturers feeling the impact of the Trump administration’s increasingly protectionist stance.
Melania Trump received a lot of criticism for wearing a jacket with the phrase "I DON'T REALLY CARE, DO U?" scrawled across the back on her way to meet with migrant children at the Texas-Mexico border. The bizarre choice, at such a heated moment, may have been "a very calculated move," said Vox reporter Rebecca Jennings.
Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat weighs in on the backlash over family separation at the border and the need for immigration reform.
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The country's top court on Thursday ruled that states can force online retailers to charge sales taxes on purchases even if they don't have a physical presence in the state. D.A. Davidson's Tom Forte says Amazon may actually end up benefiting from that rule.
