Trump is allegedly 'feeling smug'
President Trump's trip to El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio may have been a "catastrophe," but he's still heading to his New Jersey golf club feeling "smug," according to former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci.
Scaramucci spoke to The Associated Press ahead of Trump's upcoming 10-day trip and said that the president, believe it or not, "doesn't think he is facing any challenges" at the moment.
"His attitude is, 'The economy is doing great, I am putting the hammer down on China, the rest is just noise,'" Scaramucci said. "The media is against him, his supporters are for him and the Democrats don’t seem like a threat. He's going on vacation feeling smug."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That's not to say Scaramucci thinks this feeling is entirely justified. During an appearance on MSNBC's Hardball on Thursday evening, Scaramucci said that Trump's recent visits to El Paso and Dayton, during which he bragged in an El Paso hospital about the size of a crowd at his rally, went quite poorly.
"Look, the president didn't do well on the trip," Scaramucci said, Mediaite reports. "...If the trip is being made about him and not the demonstration of compassion and love and caring and empathy for those people then it becomes a catastrophe for him and the administration, and it's also a bad reflection on the country."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Most data centers are being built in the wrong climateThe explainer Data centers require substantial water and energy. But certain locations are more strained than others, mainly due to rising temperatures.
-
‘Maps are the ideal metaphor for our models of what the world might be’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
What is China doing in Latin America?Today’s Big Question Beijing offers itself as an alternative to U.S. dominance
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
