Anthony Scaramucci said billionaire Elon Musk's days with President Donald Trump are numbered, predicting their relationship may only last a year.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment.
Why It Matters
Scaramucci, a financier and entrepreneur, was an early supporter of Trump during his first presidential campaign in 2016. Once Trump took office, Scaramucci was appointed White House communications director.
His tenure—which ended up lasting only 11 days—was marked with controversy, including an interview in The New Yorker in which he made remarks about other members of White House staff.
In spite of his brief time in office, Scaramucci has remained a public figure and been very critical of Trump at times.
What To Know
Scaramucci told Politico's Power Play podcast that Musk will "last longer than other people" but his time in Trump's good graces is still limited.
"Elon Musk will last a year. A lot of these guys will get blown out," Scaramucci said at the World Economic Forum. "He's worth $250, 400 billion, and Trump is a little afraid of him, so, yes, he'll last longer than other people. But he's already out to pasture. He's in the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE], which doesn't exist."
Musk has become an ever-growing presence in U.S. and global politics, frequently at the side of President Trump. He spoke at the presidential parade at Capital One Arena on Inauguration Day, where he thanked supporters for reelecting Trump and expressed his enthusiasm for the administration's goals.
The SpaceX CEO recently urged lawmakers to vote down an original bipartisan spending bill and said any lawmaker who supported it should be voted out of office. He was also the center of the ongoing debate over the H-1B visa program.
Scaramucci noted that Musk "got badged yesterday to have a White House access point" but that this may cause a conflict of interest.
"He's got two companies that he's running, three companies—Twitter, Tesla and SpaceX," Scaramucci said. "What are we going to do? We're going to have corporate CEOs influencing governmental policy to benefit their corporation from inside the White House? Is that what we're doing?"
Scaramucci on Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Scaramucci said many of Trump's close allies will "get blown out," including Marco Rubio, who was confirmed earlier this week as Secretary of State.
"I don't see how Marco Rubio can last more than a year," Scaramucci said. "Marco Rubio is philosophically antithetical to what Trump wants to do in the society from a geopolitical perspective. He's gonna switch on a dime and just embrace all the Trump stuff? Come on. It's not going to happen."
Rubio was confirmed as the Secretary of State on Monday, January 20. During his confirmation hearing, he advocated for an "America First" foreign policy, prioritizing US national interests.
He is the first nominee to be confirmed by the Senate and Republicans have pledged to work to confirm as many Trump nominees as possible during his first week so the president can hit the ground running.
Rubio's prominent role in Trump's Cabinet is particularly noteworthy given the rocky relationship the two men shared since first campaigning for the 2016 Republican nomination.
The new Secretary of State frequently criticized Trump on the 2016 campaign trail, making crude remarks about the size of his hands, his appearance and his Twitter habits. Trump returned fire, nicknaming Rubio "Liddle Marco."
Scaramucci on Donald Trump's Second Term in Office
Scaramucci admitted on the podcast that he had "bought into the narrative that Joe Biden was doing better than he was." He noted that "Democrats will have to answer for that."
Now that Trump is in office for a second time, Scaramucci warned that the president is "not going to do as he says." He added that the public has "normalized all that [Trump's] doing."
"People are voting for a man who is offering them campaign promises and offer them statements that they have rejected and don't believe," Scaramucci said. "He has a lot of willing supplicants now to do his bidding. If that is good, let's see what happens but let's see."
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump wrote on X in 2019: "Anthony, who would do anything to come back in, should remember the only reason he is on TV, and it's not for being the Mooch!"
X user @DEPBKLYN, who is followed by Donald J. Trump, wrote on Truth Social: "Scaramucci is an unserious irrelevant clown."
Anthony Scaramucci wrote on X: "Great to join @annemcelvoy live from @Davos to discuss Trump's second term."
What Happens Next
Musk's co-leader at DOGE, Vivek Ramaswamy, has announced that he is leaving the department.
"Vivek Ramaswamy lasted minus one day," Scaramucci said. "You can't even measure him by Scaramuccis, which are 11-day time units."
Musk, who has already been taking a leading role in running DOGE, will continue to do so.
