White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci on Thursday said he will avoid using “colorful language” after calling a reporter a day earlier to let off a wildly profane rant in which he attacked White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief White House strategist Steve Bannon.
“I sometimes use colorful language,” Scaramucci tweeted.
He pledged to “refrain in this area” in future.
I sometimes use colorful language. I will refrain in this arena but not give up the passionate fight for @realDonaldTrump's agenda. #MAGA
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) July 27, 2017
The language in question, which Scaramucci described with paradoxical understatement, included his characterization of Priebus as a “a fucking paranoid schizophrenic” and Bannon as someone who is trying to build a personal brand “off the fucking strength of the President.”
New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza on Thursday reported that Scaramucci called him Wednesday night to demand Lizza name his sources for a report that Scaramucci was dining at the White House with President Donald Trump.
In the phone call, according to Lizza, Scaramucci threatened to “eliminate everyone in the comms team,” said he wanted “to fucking kill all the leakers” and claimed Priebus would “be asked to resign very shortly.”
He reserved a particularly profane indictment for Bannon: “I’m not Steve Bannon, I’m not trying to suck my own cock.”
Scaramucci did not apologize for or comment on the substance of his attacks.
