Scaramucci: The ‘Swamp’ May Not Necessarily Be ‘Drainable’

For ousted former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, the proverbial ‘swamp’ is actually “a gold-plated hot tub,” and it might not have a drain.

Speaking with Bloomberg‘s Julie Hyman Thursday, the Mooch defended what he called President Donald Trump‘s attempts to clean up Washington, but said that it might be futile.

In a persistent line of questioning, Hyman noted, “We have been hearing from some of the members in administration who allegedly are taking private flights on taxpayers’ dimes, we of course had the story about Ben Carson and the expensive dining set for his office, for example, there’s still various investigations of the Trump Organization’s business dealings and how that relates to government.”

“So, at this point, how can the president credibly still say that he’s draining the swamp?” she asked.

In response, Scaramucci didn’t deny the lack of progress, but tried to excuse the president for whom he famously worked a mere eleven days.

“I didn’t say he’s draining it. I think he’s discovering that it may be a gold-plated hot tub,” he said. “I don’t necessarily know if the swamp is actually drainable. You’re bringing up one-off incidents, but I’m talking more about the swamp as a business model where special interests and lobbyists curry favor with elected officials to maintain the order of what is sometimes called ‘crony capitalism.'”

Scaramucci did note that “the practices of Washington” were the reason why Trump was voted into office. Then, he compared Congress’s likability to that of North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-un.

“The approval rating for the Congress is down to where the North Korean dictator is,” he remarked. “I’ve heard John McCain say that it’s down to paid staff and family members. It may be down only to paid staff at this point. You know, people do not like what’s going on in Washington, and I didn’t say the president is changing it; I said he’s trying to.”

You can watch the video above (the relevant part starts at the 8:30 mark), via Bloomberg.

[image via screengrab]