Scaramucci cancels online event, denies rumors involving Fox News host
Despite only lasting 10 days in the White House, Anthony Scaramucci doesn't appear interested in going away.
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Anthony Scaramucci is out of the White House — where he lasted just 10 days — but he's still making headlines.
The former White House communications director had planned to host an online event Friday to address his July 31 dismissal from the Trump administration, but abruptly canceled that plan on Thursday.
"No Press Event Tomorrow: Focusing on Family, My Work in The Private Sector." Scaramucci wrote on Twitter. "#MovingForward Stay Tuned!"
Scaramucci had previously told CNN the event would be a daytime broadcast that would appear on multiple live platforms.
The cancellation came on the day The New Yorker released parts of reporter Ryan Lizza's phone call with Scaramucci, a profanity-filled call that ended Scaramucci's tenure in the White House.
Former Fox News executive Bill Shine, who was forced out of the network his year for his role in at least two of five settlements totaling $13 million paid to former Fox News personalities who accused former host Bill O'Reilly of sexual and verbal harassment, had been slated to help produce the event. Shine faces several lawsuits from current and former Fox News personalities who claim he looked the other way and protected bad behavior during his tenure.
Since his ouster, Scaramucci has remained in the news cycle on several fronts.
While still on the job last week, Scaramucci attended a dinner with President Trump that included Shine and other Fox News personalities, including Fox & Friends co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade, and Hannity host Sean Hannity.
Also at that dinner was The Five co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle. Rumors reported this week by the Huffington Post and TMZ have speculated that she is dating Scaramucci. TMZ reported that Scaramucci's exit from the White House came after a reporter began to inquire about his possible relationship with Guilfoyle.
Scaramucci, whose second wife filed for divorce last week after giving birth to their second son, denied the rumors. Political consultant Roger Stone, a good friend of Guilfoyle, told the Huffington Post that the two "are very close friends but nothing more," and joked that Scaramucci is "way too short for Kimberly."
Through a Fox News representative, Guilfoyle said she has known Scaramucci for years through her work at Fox News and called the two "good friends."
Additionally, a memo published Wednesday on Medium by right-wing media figure Mike Cernovich revealed some ideas Scaramucci, who started as communications director July 21, wanted to bring to the White House. One suggestion involved producing video content that would have acted like "the President Donald J. Trump show," while another suggestion would have ended official press conferences and instead have the president take questions directly on Facebook.
One of the more outlandish ideas was to create a national online lottery in which the winner could play a round of golf with Trump.
"POTUS has a funny and irreverent side which was shared with the electorate during the campaign," Scaramucci noted in the memo.
Scaramucci resigned in the wake of his interview with Lizza, which dominated news coverage as Republicans were attempting to pass a "skinny" repeal of the Affordable Care Act. During the interview, Scaramucci called former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus a "paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoic" and claimed chief strategist Steve Bannon was trying to build his own personal brand off "the strength of the president."