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.
Large swaths of Puerto Rico lost power Wednesday, the second major service interruption in less than two weeks. That makes efforts to recover from Hurricane Maria even harder, says Kelly Macias, a staff writer at the Daily Kos. Thousands of people on the island have been in the dark since the storm hit in September.
In light of Facebook's data scandal, other tech companies should give users a cut of the money they made off of their information, says Brittany Kaiser, a former director of business development at data company Cambridge Analytica.
Brittany Kaiser, a former executive at the company that gained access to data on millions of Facebook users, said that the estimate of 87 million people affected is far less than the reality.
The Fox News primetime host remains unscathed even after multiple controversies, including the revelation on Monday that he sought legal advice from President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. "He pretty much plays by his own rules," says Michael Calderone, Politico's senior media reporter.
The back and forth between UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and President Trump's economic adviser Larry Kudlow over sanctions on Russia just reflects a major difference of opinion within the White House and "that she's a little more hawkish on issues in terms of foreign policy," says Jon Miller, CRTV's White House correspondent.
Nearly half the films debuting this year were directed by women, says Pete Torres, the festival's COO. Promoting women in the film industry "always has been part of our mission," he told Cheddar Wednesday.
Cohen has a hand in many of President Trump's dealings, from the Stormy Daniels case to potential business in Russia, says political consultant Rick Wilson. That could all be used to either flip him against Trump or put him behind bars.
Reporters at the New York Times and the New Yorker magazine shared the prize for public service journalism for their reporting on Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, which ultimately sparked the #MeToo movement.
The FBI's raid of Cohen's office and hotel wasn't "appropriate," says RNC Spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany. After McEnany's interview with Cheddar, a New York City court revealed that one of Cohen's most recent legal clients includes Fox News prime time host Sean Hannity.
Excerpts from Comey's tell-all book, "A Higher Loyalty", and his interview with ABC over the weekend reveal controversial but insubstantial details about President Trump. This could be "engineered to irk his [former] boss," says Asawin Suebsaeng, White House Reporter, The Daily Beast.
