Scaramucci to Lemon: Trump ‘doubling down’ on downplaying virus ‘should scare’ viewers

Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci on Thursday told CNN’s Don Lemon that President Trump “doubling down” on his admission to “downplaying” the threat of COVID-19 “should scare every one of your viewers.”

Scaramucci addressed Trump’s reaction to journalist Bob Woodward releasing audio tapes of interviews, one of which revealed Trump talking in March about downplaying the severity of the coronavirus pandemic. 

“He’s caught on tape, he’s basically telling you he has a callous disregard for the innocent lives of his fellow citizens,” Scaramucci said in an interview with Lemon. “He really only cares about himself and his political ambition.”

“You know what, I’m going to tell you something: It’s very scary,” Scaramucci added. “It should scare every one of your viewers.” 

.@donlemon : This should scare every one of your viewers https://t.co/NO4X0H4UzU via @YouTube The Big Lie

— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) September 11, 2020

The former White House official went on to say that he expects more information about Trump’s handling of the pandemic to be revealed when Woodward’s book, “Rage,” is officially released on Sept. 15. 

“When this book finally hits and there will be more allegations in the book and then there’s more stuff to come out next week, he’ll be in a dither spitting those lies,” Scaramucci said. “And this is the most dangerous time I can think of, because if he gets away with it, just imagine what he’ll be like in a second term.”

Scaramucci has become a vocal critic of Trump following the former communications official’s 10-day tenure in the White House in 2017, calling Trump’s personality ahead of the 2020 State of the Union “classic narcissism.” 

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White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Wednesday denied that Trump deliberately misled the public. However, Trump later said while responding to questions from reporters on Wednesday that “perhaps” he misled the public about the threat of the virus in order to “reduce panic.” 

Despite this admission, Trump slammed Woodward on Thursday, questioning why the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist would have withheld Trump’s comments if “they were so bad.”

“Bob Woodward had my quotes for many months. If he thought they were so bad or dangerous, why didn’t he immediately report them in an effort to save lives?” Trump tweeted. “Didn’t he have an obligation to do so? No, because he knew they were good and proper answers. Calm, no panic!”