Former Trump ally and briefly White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci recently defended ex-President Donald Trump in light of Stormy Daniels’ claim that Trump told her she reminded him of his daughter Ivanka Trump. The comment arose during Daniels’ testimony at Trump’s hush money and election interference trial.
The trial proceedings on Tuesday had significant revelations, including the moment when Daniels mentioned that Trump compared her to his daughter Ivanka, citing her intelligence, beauty, and the fact that people underestimated her. During CNN’s coverage of the trial, anchor Dana Bash asked Scaramucci about his thoughts on the statement and whether he believed it reflected Trump’s attempt to be charming.
In response, Scaramucci attempted to rationalize Trump’s remark, suggesting that Trump often used charm to ease interactions:
DANA BASH: Anthony, I’m sorry that we keep interrupting you, but this testimony is coming in fast and furious. She testified. I said, she said I, I told you, even you don’t have that power. But then at a different point, he said, that she “reminds me of your daughter because she’s smart, blond, and beautiful, and people underestimate her.”
JAKE TAPPER: That’s what Trump said, to Stormy Daniels.
DANA BASH: That’s what Trump said to Stormy Daniels. So Trump is telling Stormy Daniels that she reminds him of Ivanka Trump. “The way he framed it. It did actually make perfect sense.”
Do you want to comment on that?
ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI: Well, I mean, listen, I want to I want to be fair to him as well. In a one-on-one setting, I just certainly don’t want him to return to the presidency, for so many different reasons.
But in a one-on-one setting, he tries to be charming and he tries to melt the ice in a situation. So I could totally see him saying something like that.
And I think even people that he goes after, because he’s a little insecure when he meets them face to face, he turns up the charm.
So all of that is indicative to his personality. So again, what she’s saying comes across very true to me. And I don’t think you make up details like that, Dana.
