Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci says he's bullish about financial markets, but he's less keen on the way his old boss is handling the coronavirus pandemic.
"We are now the epicenter of this crisis, frankly, due to governmental mismanagement," Scaramucci told Cheddar.
The White House official-turned vocal critic of the president said Donald Trump ignored information and downplayed the seriousness of the outbreak.
"The president had the information in January," he said. "He had the information from his intelligence agencies, the pandemic people at the NIH and CDC, and he elected to ignore the information."
He added that the U.S. could be in a position closer to South Korea and Singapore, which have managed to flatten the rate of infection if Trump had acted sooner.
As the head of SkyBridge Capital, Scaramucci is nonetheless optimistic that federal efforts to soften the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak will work as intended.
"People that are calling for a depression really have not studied the macroeconomic effects of the government stimulus and the fed buying program," he said "This is totally different from 1929 or even from the 2008 financial crisis. I'm bullish here for financial assets and financial markets."
He said that in retrospect the downturn of the last few weeks will mark the low-point of the coronavirus-induced financial crisis.
"I actually think we have hit rock bottom," Scaramucci said.
Starbucks’ decision to restrict its restrooms to paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom use policies that varies by state and city. Starbucks announced last week a new code of conduct that says people need to make a purchase if they want to hang out or use the restroom. The coffee chain's policy change for bathroom privileges has left Americans confused and divided over who gets to go and when. The American Restroom Association, a public toilet advocacy group, was among the critics. Rules about restroom access in restaurants vary by state, city and county. The National Retail Federation says private businesses have a right to limit restroom use.
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