Scaramucci Deletes Negative Tweets; White House Communications Changes
ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: I love the president. And I'm very, very loyal to the president. I love these guys. I respect these guys. I love the president. The president's phenomenal with the press. The president himself is always going to be the president. I think he's got some of the best political instincts in the world and perhaps in history. He's done a phenomenal job for the American people.</s>CAMEROTA: All right, the White House has a new communications director. That was Anthony Scaramucci, who seems to have a lot of love for President Trump, though he does not appear to share many of the president's positions. Sean Spicer is now out as press secretary. So what does this mean for getting real information out of the White House? Joining us now, CNN's senior political commentator Jennifer Granholm and former Trump campaign adviser and CNN political commentator Jason Miller. Great to have both of you. Governor, I want to start with you because Anthony Scaramucci is an interesting guy.</s>JENNIFER GRANHOLM, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Very.</s>CAMEROTA: And you took note of that on Twitter. You took note of his past positions. Very recent past positions. You tweeted out, Scaramucci deleted tweets showing he's pro-choice, anti-gun, pro- Hillary Clinton, anti-Donald Trump, pro-gay marriage, anti-death penalty and he thinks climate change is real. You sound enthusiastic about this choice for communications director.</s>GRANHOLM: Yes, I mean, he -- I mean he's pretty much aligned. And I forgot to mention, because we only had 140 characters, that he's anti-wall as well. You know, I mean it's pretty amazing that Donald Trump, who's Mr. Loyalty, right, who is suspicious of anybody who donated to somebody else in the campaign, regardless of the fact that Donald Trump has donated to Hillary Clinton in the past, right, or to Democrats in the past. But the bottom line is that it's really interesting to me that he picked somebody is to be his spokesperson who is completely antithetical in his own personal beliefs to so much of what Donald Trump purports to stand for.</s>CAMEROTA: So, Jason, this was a job that you previously held in terms of communications director for the campaign or the transition. How will this work, that Scaramucci feels so differently than the president he serves?</s>JASON MILLER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think Anthony is going to do a fantastic job here. I think one of the important things for folks to remember is that Anthony was an active surrogate on the campaign, as well as the transition. So he's very familiar with the president's positions. He's been a very effective advocate for those positions. And one of the things that the governor knows is that when folks sign on to work for, whether it be a candidate or for someone who's actually in office, they're signing on to their beliefs, their positions and they're going to tow the line and work for the -- to help advance that agenda.</s>CAMEROTA: Yes.</s>MILLER: I'm sure the governor -- not everybody who ever worked for the governor during her time in office agreed with every single position, but I think where --</s>GRANHOLM: No, everybody did.</s>CAMEROTA: Yes.</s>MILLER: Right. Not -- not --</s>CAMEROTA: Yes, yes, of course. Of course.</s>MILLER: Yes, right. Not -- right, everybody. But here's the important thing.</s>CAMEROTA: Yes.</s>MILLER: Anthony has a proven record of advocating the president's positions.</s>CAMEROTA: Yes.</s>MILLER: And he really, truly gets this spirit of making America great again, this broader agenda that the president is trying to move on the legislative side.</s>CAMEROTA: Yes, but, hold on, Jason, I understand. But to be so fundamentally at odds with your own positions versus the president that you serve. I mean would you take that job? Would you take a job with someone with whom your positions were antithetical?</s>MILLER: Well views might change a little bit over time and also things get said in the course of campaigns maybe when you're on the same side as someone or on a different side. It might be a little bit heated. But the thing that's very clear here is that Anthony is on board with what the president's trying to do. And I think it's also -- when you go back and look at Anthony's background as someone who's a businessman. He comes from Wall Street. He comes from the world of private capital and trying to get the economy and growth going. That's very much in the same spirit as where President Trump is. And that's why I think -- part of the reason why I think both of these two get along and agree so much.</s>CAMEROTA: Yes.</s>GRANHOLM: I think -- you know, I mean, ultimately, this is -- it isn't about Anthony Scaramucci's core, right, because he's -- he's willing to give that up in order to be the spokesperson, right?</s>CAMEROTA: Is that how you interpret this?</s>GRANHOLM: Yes.</s>CAMEROTA: I mean so like the things that he has tweeted -- let me just throw up some for people so that they understand. He had all of these tweets that represent what you say, that he is pro-choice, he's pro- gun control. He said things about Hillary Clinton. "If Hillary keeps this up, she might be in play for 2016." He said this in 2012. "I hope she runs. She is incredibly competent." He said about gun control, "I have always been for strong gun control laws." So --</s>GRANHOLM: Yes.</s>CAMEROTA: So --</s>GRANHOLM: This is quite -- I mean if it were one evolution, that would be interesting. But he's -- he's evolved. If it's true that he would have evolved, now adopts the president's position, that is a -- that would -- that's head spinning. I'm sure he --</s>MILLER: No. Look, governor -- governor --</s>GRANHOLM: But, no, no, I'm just saying. But my point is, Jason, is really to sort of agree with you and to say, he is the -- he's a hired gun now really for the president. It's no different than if you're a lawyer and you have to argue your client's case. And then the -- the more interesting point to me was the president hasn't seemed to want to have people who had evolved like that. He wants somebody, usually in the past, who was loyal to the core. But here's, I think, what's more importantly, is, can Scaramucci get the president to get on message? I was -- I was checking out the number of tweets that the president did just in the -- this month of July on his own defense, the obsession that he has about the Russia stuff and about feeling attacked and about fake news and he did about -- well, actually, he did another one this morning. So 47 in the month of July tweets related to his worry about China -- excuse me, about Russia, fake news, all of that, to feeling attacked. His defense. He only did -- so that's 47 -- 14 tweets about jobs and this is supposed to be the month where he goes to make it in America.</s>CAMEROTA: OK.</s>GRANHOLM: So there's a huge disproportion --</s>MILLER: All right, Alisyn, I've got to jump in.</s>MILLER: All right, you've got to let me jump --</s>CAMEROTA: Yes, go.</s>MILLER: OK. So this -- this is why the democratic Party is so rudderless right now. Governor, there is not one person in the United States that woke up this morning who gave a rat's you know what about Anthony Scaramucci's or anybody else's tweets from days or months or years ago. No, there is --</s>GRANHOLM: No, I'm not talking about -- no, no, I'm talking about Trump. I'm talking about Donald Trump.</s>CAMEROTA: From Donald Trump.</s>MILLER: Nobody -- well, before you were talking about -- and then you want to pivot into this -- what people care about is advancing the agenda and trying to repeal and replace Obamacare.</s>GRANHOLM: That's my point. That's my point.</s>MILLER: They care about getting some substantive tax reform done. They want to get --</s>CAMEROTA: Yes, and so will of the new communications director be able to do that?</s>MILLER: And, absolutely, because Anthony Scaramucci believes in the president's mission and what he's trying to do to move this country forward. That's what people care about. People aren't focused on these -- on these tweets and these other --</s>GRANHOLM: OK. So -- so when I look at August --</s>MILLER: And -- but, again, this is even -- even today you take a look at what -- I mean I'm going to throw you a bone here, governor, and talk about the one attempt at a positive message that the Democrats are trying to put out today. It's not even a positive message. They're trying to go on the attack and trying to attack people left and right.</s>GRANHOLM: No, they're speaking about jobs, man. That's what the president should be talking about is jobs. His tweet this morning is talking about the investigation, raiding the --</s>MILLER: No, and it's -- no, and that's -- with no -- with no -- you know who actually has --</s>GRANHOLM: He's not talking about jobs.</s>MILLER: You let -- you know who actually has a plan? President Trump actually -- President Trump -- you look at the job growth records since he's come in.</s>GRANHOLM: No --</s>MILLER: It's doing fantastic. You look at the stock market. You look at investor confidence,. You look at consumer confidence. Governor, our economy is finally starting to move in the right direction.</s>GRANHOLM: What has he done? What -- what bill has he passed? Not one. He hasn't passed any</s>MILLER: He has -- he has already started to reduce regulations. He went to Michigan -- he went to Michigan, your home state, and he's already started --</s>CAMEROTA: OK, Jason, answer that -- answer that as the last word.</s>MILLER: He's started to make some fantastic progress to reduce burdensome regulations to were hurting the auto industry. He went and signed that right there in your --</s>GRANHOLM: And that's why Ford decided to move their jobs to Mexico, right?</s>MILLER: And they have a lot more that they're keeping here and growing here and -- and we're excited about the jobs that we're seeing in the United States.</s>GRANHOLM: And Carrier -- Carrier's jobs continue to move. Harley Davidson started to move. I'm just saying --</s>CAMEROTA: You guys really --</s>MILLER: And the president -- and the president was able to help keep 1,100 jobs right there in Indianapolis.</s>CAMEROTA: I can see that we just wound it up and now you guys are getting started. Governor, Jason Miller, thank you very much.</s>GRANHOLM: You bet.</s>CAMEROTA: It will be fascinating to see how Anthony Scaramucci handles all of this.</s>MILLER: Thank you.</s>CAMEROTA: Chris.</s>CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, another story for you. Police are piecing together a deadly human trafficking operation. Dozens of people, maybe as many as 100, trapped in the back of a semi-truck. Temperatures topping 100 degrees outside. People lost their lives. Nine at the latest count. What's going on? We have the latest from the scene.