Scaramucci: Trump’s war on the media ‘not good for America’

Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci on Sunday said he would advise President Trump to avoid a war with the media, saying it is “not good for America” or for the office of the president.

“It’s okay to disagree but let’s not be at war, because it’s not good for America. I don’t think it’s good for him personally and it’s not good for the presidency,” Scaramucci told MSNBC’s “Kasie DC” on whether the president should battle with the media.

“So that stuff I would really caution him on and give him advice not to do.”

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Scaramucci argued that while disagreements with the media are okay, the Trump administration should steer clear of an outright feud with journalists.

“I think sometimes when he’s tweeting at journalists, as an example, I would tell him, ‘Hey, let’s not do that,’” Scaramucci said.

“I think that we made a very big mistake early on in the administration when Steve Bannon declared war on the media,” he added, referring to former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon.

The remarks from Scaramucci come after Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally Saturday referred to NBC “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd as a “sleeping son of a bitch.”

Scaramucci in the interview said he is “a big believer” in a free press.

“I understand the documents that were written by our founders. It is super important to have a First Amendment right,” he said. “And it is super important to check people, Kasie, that are in power.”

Trump frequently lashes out at individual journalists and news organizations and often refers to outlets like CNN as “fake news.”

Scaramucci briefly served as the White House communications director, but left after a profanity-laced rant to a reporter about Bannon was released to the public.