Scaramucci on The New Yorker Interview That Got Him Fired
*By Alisha Haridasani*
Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House communications director, said The New Yorker magazine’s Ryan Lizza acted “inappropriately” when he published [an article](https://www.newyorker.com/news/ryan-lizza/anthony-scaramucci-called-me-to-unload-about-white-house-leakers-reince-priebus-and-steve-bannon) that essentially led to Scaramucci’s firing last year.
“I was building a rapport with him, I was talking to him very colloquially,” Scaramucci said in an interview with Cheddar’s J.D. Durkin.
In that article, Lizza describes a profane on-the-record phone call with Scaramucci in which he criticizes Reince Priebus, the former White House chief of Staff, and Steve Bannon, a former top presidential adviser. A few days later, Scaramucci was out of his job, too.
Scaramucci said that Lizza has tried to contact him since the article was published, asking if he would speak to Lizza's class at Georgetown University.
"What is this guy -- nuts?” Scaramucci said.
Though he only lasted 11 days in his job, Scaramucci said he made important changes at the White House.
“I only did, like, three things right when I was there,” Scaramucci said, adding that it was his decision to allow cameras back into the daily news briefings. (The former White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, had barred live coverage of his daily briefings.)
“I’m a big believer in the First Amendment,” he said.
And it was he who helped convince President Trump to pickSarah Huckabee Sanders to be the White House press secretary. “I think she’s done a great job,” he said.
Scaramucci said he's still in touch with the president, who calls him up to talk politics and discuss personal issues.
“I’ve probably talked to him 12 or so times,” since leaving the White House, Scaramucci said. “But again, I don’t want to exaggerate my relationship.”
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/anthony-scaramucci-had-leakers-on-the-run-during-his-11-days-at-the-white-house).
Matt Hayden, vice president of govtech solutions at Exiger and a former assistant secretary of cyber at Department of Homeland Security, joined Cheddar to discuss the surprise phone call initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin to President Joe Biden, ahead of January security talks about the rising tensions over Ukraine. "We're hoping to hear that we're able to talk about the aggression and the leadup of the Ukrainian militarization," Hayden said. "But we're also looking to hear is how the Kremlin leveraged their talking points to try to test their negotiation stance with the United States leading into this January 10th meeting."
The No Surprises Act begins implementation on January 1, 2022. The legislation is meant to curb the practice of unexpected billing for care from providers the patient was unaware were out-of-network from their insurance. Patricia Kelmar, director of health care campaigns for U.S. PIRG joined Cheddar to describe the hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars charged to unsuspecting patients and how things will change under the new law. "If we are picking an in-network doctor and an in-network hospital, we should not see those added costs from anesthesiologists, radiologists, scrub-in surgeons," she said. "The other area it protects you is in air ambulances — not ground ambulances, unfortunately — but the helicopters or the airplanes you might need to transport you in an emergency situation."
President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladmir Putin are expected to have another conversation surrounding escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Ariel Cohen, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, joined Cheddar's Ken Buffa to discuss the ongoing tensions and why Putin's request for a conversation with Biden comes now. "This is very serious. This is the worst security crisis we had since the collapse of the Soviet Union," Cohen told Cheddar.
Stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, but two indexes - the Dow and the S&P 500 - ended the session with a new record. Akshata Bailkeri, Equity Analyst at Bruderman Asset Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she says there is a consensus for robust consumer spreading in 2022, especially as the Omicron variant is proving to be milder than other COVID-19 strains.
John Quelch, Dean of Miami Herbert Business School, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the retail giant is acting in accordance to President Biden's new law banning goods from China's Xinjiang region. Quelch also elaborates on the importance of China in Walmart's overall strategy.
