Scaramucci: Trump's Playing to His Base With Immigration Rhetoric
*By Carlo Versano*
Anthony Scaramucci, the colorful former adviser to President Trump who was unceremoniously fired after 10 days as White House communications director, said that Trump's latest hard-line immigration rhetoric is a ploy to energize members of his base who otherwise may be complacent and stay home on Election Day.
"This narrow-casting idea may make sense" given that the economy is strong, Scaramucci said Monday in an interview on Cheddar. Trump is hitting the "hot buttons of his base" to get them to vote.
Scaramucci ー who said he's still regularly in touch with the president despite his abrupt departure from a short, but tumultuous tenure in the summer of 2017 ー is promoting a book "Trump, The Blue-Collar President," in which he attempts to explain how, despite the trappings of his public life as a New York billionaire, the president was able to resonate with working-class voters who had strayed from the Democratic party.
"He was born with a golden toilet seat," Scaramucci said. "His apartment looks like Louis XIV decorated it after smoking crystal meth."
And yet, Scaramucci said, his voters don't care.
"It's about him being able to galvanize blue-collar people to his message."
It's a well-worn truism of the last two years that Trump was able to peel off longtime Democratic voters in the Rust Belt who had felt neglected by the party, which had becoming unmoored from its working-class roots. Trump came in ー he "hijacked the Republican party," Scaramucci said ー and built a base that has stuck with him through [thick and thin](http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/01/trumps-approval-ratings-so-far-are-unusually-stable-and-deeply-partisan/).
"It's an historic political achievement whether you like the guy or not," Scaramucci said.
His advice to Democrats: "Go back and return to your roots and you'll have a fairer fight with the president in 2020."
But the "Mooch," while generally supportive of Trump, admitted he thought the inflammatory rhetoric and policies around immigration is becoming problematic for the administration's agenda. He blamed a cohort of current and former top White House officials ー Steve Bannon, John Kelly and Kirstjen Nielsen, among them ー that have promulgated the hard-line nationalist strain that Trump has embraced for Election Day.
"I'm not in love with it," said Scaramucci. "A lot of the president's family members are not in love with it."
The book has been [received](https://www.ft.com/content/e1cfca66-de86-11e8-9f04-38d397e6661c) by some as a job re-application for a position in the White House, but Scaramucci said he's not interested in that kind of comeback.
"I'm not a big fan of Washington," he said.
"However bad you think these people are ー trust me ー they're way worse."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/scaramucci-on-midterms-washington-and-trump).
Thrive Market is a health-first membership for conscious living, with a mission to make healthy and sustainable living easy and accessible. Nick Green, CEO and co-founder, chatted with Cheddar's Baker Machado about the company's approach and new ventures in 2022. "I grew up outside of Minneapolis, middle class, middle America, and really saw firsthand how hard my mom had to work to put healthy food on the table, on a budget, without a health food store nearby," he said. "Twenty-some years later we looked around and just thought it was crazy that millions of Americans are still struggling with the same thing, and we decided to change it." Recently the brand released a line of organic frozen products and will be introducing new beauty and home brands.
In what could be the biggest deal in video games history, Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard underlines the company's aggressive push in gaming and beyond into its long-term vision of being top dog in the metaverse. Adam Hollander, former director of gamification at Microsoft and founder of Hungry Wolves NFT, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss. “Microsoft always plays chess, not checkers," he said, describing the price tag as an opportunity cost. "It's about integrating Activision Blizzard in with Azure and Windows and Xbox and Hololens and Minecraft and everything else that they're doing for the inevitable goal of being the major player in the next phase of the internet."
Jordan Zakarin, Media Producer at A More Perfect Union, joined Cheddar News to break down the latest from Colorado, where at least 8,700 Kroger employees walked off the job in demand of increased benefits and wages.
Food waste is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Strella Biotechnology is trying to solve the problem by introducing new technology to a business that's been around for generations -- farming. The 24-year-old CEO created hi-tech sensors that interpret the shelf life of produce and alert farmers when fruits and vegetables are ready to be sent to supermarkets. The company says the process can help farmers make money, reduce food waste and increase the quality of produce. Strella Biotechnology's co-founder and CEO Katherine Sizov and co-founder and COO Jay Jordan joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Norbu Tenzing, Vice President of the American Himalayan Foundation and the son of the first Sherpa to ever summit Everest, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss how Sherpa's put themselves in danger for clients, and the dangers of Everest's 'Death Zone.'
Gordon Janow, Director of Programs at Alpine Ascents, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss how to get mentally and physically prepared to climb Mount Everest.
Netflix may not be staying at the top of the streaming wars, according to some wary investors, as competition heats up and it raises prices yet again. Tuna Amobi, director and senior equity analyst at CFRA Research, spoke with Cheddar about what investors should be considering should they stick with the streaming pioneer or drop the investment. "I think it's always mostly about the subscriber growth for the Q4, which is going to be an indicator of how the company has been navigating the speed bumps that we saw early in the year," said Amobi.
Daniel Loría, SVP content strategy and editorial director at Boxoffice Media, joins Cheddar News to discuss what helped 'Scream' score number one at the box office and what it means for the horror genre.
