You don't have to respect Anthony Scaramucci to know that what he's saying is important

Even with an 11-day tenure, there is something notable about a former senior White House official alleging that the sitting president of the United States is unhinged

Scaramucci has been taking full advantage of his 11-day tenure by making the rounds on TV in the last couple of weeks (Getty Images)

Like many people who regularly exercise their gift of discernment, I have a hard time taking anything that flows from Anthony Scararmucci’s mouth seriously.

During an appearance on HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher last Friday, Scaramucci said that he stood by President Trump despite his flaws because he loves his country. (In related news, 1 + 1 = 702.) By Sunday, Scaramucci was calling for a new candidate to top the 2020 Republican ticket in an interview with Axios. He claimed if Trump “doesn’t reform his behaviour, it will not just be me, but many others will be considering helping to find a replacement in 2020.”

“Right now, it’s an unspeakable thing,” he said of the idea. “But if he keeps it up, it will no longer be unspeakable. The minute they start speaking of it, it will circulate and be socialized. We can’t afford a full nuclear contamination site post-2020.”

On Monday, Scaramucci declared in an interview with Bloomberg News, “At this time I cannot support his re-election and we need to think about someone new to be at the top of the ticket.” Scaramucci cited, among many other things, “the racially charged comments, the divisive tweeting” as reasons for this opinion.

Such divisiveness and racially charged comments would include Trump’s attacks on Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib, he continued. “By the way, bullying is very anti-American. Should we send him back?” he said. “The dam is going to break. People are embarrassed now.”

Scaramucci also later told CNN, “He’s off the rails. And the honest people in the room know that he is crazy.”

In response, Republican House Judiciary Committee ranking member Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia told Fox News’ Your World, “I think some people have had a little bit too much TV time and Scaramucci is one of them.” Trump clearly shares this feeling, if this tweet is anything to go by:

As did MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell, dismissing Scaramucci as “one of the most ridiculous characters in the Trump freak show” and a “proven liar.” He called Scaramucci the “clowniest of the clowns.” O’Donnell went on to say that “the words Anthony Scaramucci have always meant absolutely nothing in American politics and always will.”

I’m usually inclined to agree with O’Donnell, but I actually do find some value in Scaramucci feigning disgust of Trump.

Even if his stint as White House communications director lasted as long as this sentence, there is something notable about a former senior White House official alleging that the sitting president of the United States is unhinged. Granted, he must have always known that Donald Trump was a racist, sexist, xenophobic peon who loves to spread conspiracy theories and likes to stoke chaos by way of oversharing his various prejudices. How could he not when everyone else did?

This was the goof who knew Trump was vile but didn’t care because affiliation with him scored him cocktail party invitations and cable news bookings.

Anthony Scaramucci is not reacting to the reality of Donald Trump being a despicable human being; he’s troubled that he now sees the tide turning on that reality. That mentality reminds me of a recent AP article I read entitled “Suburban women recoil as Trump dives into racial politics.” In it, you hear white suburban women like Kathy Barnes say of Trump, “I did not think it was going to be as bad as it is — definitely narcissism and sexism, but I did not think it was going to be as bad as it is. I am just ashamed to be an American right now.”

Donald Trump started his campaign comparing Mexicans to rapists, and along the way, insulted the appearance of a political opponents’ wife, called for the jailing of another opponent, and promised to ban members of an entire religion from entering the United States. Even so, this will become a recurring theme in the future as those responsible for George Wallace’s political heir ascending to the presidency profess to be disgusted with the mess they helped make.

I believe former Trump associates like Scaramucci sense this and are abandoning ship to help save face. They know their former shtick – fawning over the president on television, despite what madness he involves himself in – may well not be a good way to book television appearances in the future. Scaramucci is one of the first rats to jump off the sinking ship, but he certainly won’t be the last.

If you’re Donald Trump, you may want to wonder why one of your most unethical, social-climbing, fame-whoring acolytes has suddenly abandoned you.

It sounds like they no longer find Sweet Potato Saddam to be the winner they could hitch themselves to. And we don’t have to take Scaramucci seriously to know that’ll have some real consequences for the president.