Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s former White House communications director, said Minnesota Governor Tim Walz looked “lost,” “unfocused,” and “nervous” during the vice presidential debate against his Republican opponent, Senator JD Vance.
Walz and Vance faced off in a head-to-head debate on CBS News on Tuesday night, around five weeks before Election Day, and clashed over policy in a noticeably civil exchange on key issues of the economy, abortion, and immigration.
Scaramucci said on the The Rest Is Politics podcast that he wanted Walz to emerge victorious at the debate but admitted that “he didn’t win.”
Anthony Scaramucci answers reporters’ questions during the daily White House press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House July 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s former White House communications director, said Minnesota Governor Tim Walz looked “lost,” “unfocused,” and “nervous” during the vice presidential debate
Chip Somodevilla/Getty
“He was very unfocused; he got very nervous. He was not ready; he looked lost, and people are going to be mad at them. He was not ready for the debate; he was not ready for the earnestness Vance was presenting,” Scaramucci said.
“There were four things he did that were ridiculous, and whoever prepped him either didn’t know how to prep him or he didn’t prepare for the debate because you have to be ready for the Tiananmen Square question; you have to be ready for it.
“He spent 90 seconds in dead air; you could feel screeching in the room, but he got better in the middle of the debate; he got better with gun control, healthcare, and women’s reproductive rights.”
Harris-Walz Campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement: “The Governor showed once again that he will be an experienced governing partner on day one for Vice President Harris as they work together to deliver for working families. And he showed that he continues to be a powerful force on the campaign trail, holding JD Vance accountable while sounding the alarm on Trump’s Project 2025 agenda.”
Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, left, and Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, shake hands as they arrive for a CBS News vice presidential debate, Tuesday, October 1, 2024, in New York.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said in a joint statement for the Trump-Vance campaign: “Senator Vance unequivocally won tonight’s debate in dominating fashion. It was the best debate performance from any vice presidential candidate in history.”
Vance and Walz repeatedly agreed with one another on housing and jobs throughout the 90-minute debate.
Following the debate, Donald Trump Jr. said in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “I’m pretty sure that by the end of this debate, Walz is going to vote for JD.”
Trump was “absolutely thrilled with JD Vance’s performance,” campaign senior adviser Danielle Alvarez told Fox News on Tuesday night.
Scaramucci used the debate as another way to provoke his old boss, Trump. He said in a post on X: “Both of these guys did better than Trump.”
Anthony Scaramucci attends the daily White House press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House July 21, 2017 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty
Scaramucci, a financier, previously worked as an investment banker for Goldman Sachs and founded a global investment firm before joining the Trump administration during the early days of his presidency.
The former Republican president appointed Scaramucci as White House communications director on July 21, 2017, and “the Mooch” served for just 10 days before being dismissed following an expletive-laden rant about Trump-era appointees in an interview with The New Yorker that he believed was off the record.
Before his time in the administration, Scaramucci described Trump as a “hack politician” whose rhetoric is “anti-American” and “divisive” during an interview with Fox News in 2015.
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