This week I met with Anthony Scaramucci – and was surprised by how much I actually liked him

Speaking with the Mooch, I didn’t feel like I was talking to a politician – I thought I was talking to a celebrity and one that really enjoys the attention. Trump is clearly very similar and that is probably why he gets on so well with him

Anthony Scaramucci poses for a photo with Shehab Khan and Ben Kentish at the Cambridge Union (Getty Images)

Anthony Scaramucci is remembered for having the shortest tenure as the White House Director of Communications and after sitting down and talking to him, I can see why.

After graduating from Harvard, having a successful career as an investment banker and then running his own business, Scaramucci was thrusted into the Trump administration tasked with helping to sort the chaos that surrounded the West Wing. With little media or politics experience under his belt, the Mooch came in and turned the entire Trump team upside down. In his short-lived time at the White House, there was a series of high profile personnel changes: Sean Spicer and Reince Preibus both left their positions, soon after Scaramucci himself was fired and finally Steve Bannon also left. He told me that “history would show he did his job” – so what was this political suicide bomber like when we actually spoke?

Well the Mooch was much like I expected: charming, funny, talented and straight to the point. He’s a very likeable man, a larger than life character but ultimately he is totally warped by his loyalty to the President and that’s where we clashed. When posed with difficult questions about his former boss he asked whether my colleague and I were “objective” – but the only thing that wasn’t objective was his view of Trump.

As soon as the questions focused on Trump’s character and questionable comments, Scaramucci wanted to talk about the issue of the media not reporting what the President was doing fairly – the usual fake news distraction tactic. When discussing North Korea he was adamant that Trump is a “war avoider” despite the recent rhetoric that has come from the President about Pyongyang. And then when asked about Trump’s impulsive Twitter activity – he took offence to the use of the word “impulsive”.

This attitude is not unique – many of Trump’s top team and surrogates swear by what the President does but Scaramucci’s involvement in the Trump administration speaks volumes. The fact he was asked to report directly to the President despite not having a political background indicates that policy takes a backseat in the White House and instead character, personality and bravado is what is most important. Watching the way Scaramucci engaged with people and answered questions, I didn’t feel like I was talking to a politician – I thought I was talking to a celebrity and one that really enjoys the attention. Trump is clearly very similar and that is probably why he gets on so well with Scaramucci. The Mooch carried on the White House blockbuster reality show and that shows the unfortunate truth about the priorities of this administration.

When General John Kelly took over as White House Chief of Staff and wanted to restore order, Scaramucci had to go. His personality and celebrity does not fit the notion of “order” and would have been a continual distraction. Policy and dealing with the issues at hand need to be the priority and that was never Scaramucci’s purpose. The Mooch might be right, he may have done the job that was set out for him and made it easier for Trump to govern and implement his policy agenda but one thing is for certain: Scaramucci wasn’t and isn’t suited for the White House. He says himself that he found politics to be a strange world of backstabbing and power grabbing and that’s not somewhere I think the straight talking Scaramucci could ever survive.

But this charming and likeable man will be making headlines for years to come and his public profile will continue to grow. Given his undying loyalty to Trump he could prove to be more of an asset outside the White House than within.