Anthony Scaramucci took the White House communications helm immediately on Friday, and for his first major interview the next day, he chose a Breitbart radio show hosted by political editor Matt Boyle.

It was a sign that Scaramucci is aggressively using his new position to reach out to the president’s base.

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The White House will need media outlets that treat the administration fairly if there is any hope of getting back on message. Trump in the last week has bashed his attorney general, Jeff Sessions; bashed Robert Mueller, the former FBI director in charge of the Russia investigation; bashed Republicans in Congress for not defending him enough; and driven out one of his top loyalists in the White House.

On Friday, that loyalist, Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, tendered his resignation. He will leave the job in August.

Readying for Total War
To pundits, Trump’s communications team seems ready for warfare with Washington’s prosecutorial class.

Washington loves a good investigation, because it freezes Congress and the White House in place. It keeps Washington funded at current levels, and it keeps disruptive change from happening.

Trump and several of his insiders clearly do not like that Mueller, the special counsel of the Department of Justice, may look into his finances and engulf the president in years of investigation.

Trump also does not like how aggressive attorneys for Mueller are trying “to turn witnesses” against Trump and his campaign, according to some media reports.

The allegation: that somehow Trump’s campaign or associates colluded with the Russian government to hack into Democratic computers in 2016. Or that those associates coordinated the release of hacked materials. It’s questionable if the latter charge is illegal. Trump insists the only thing illegal about the entire matter has been selective leaks aimed at embarrassing his administration.

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It seems clear: Trump is thinking of firing Mueller. After firing his FBI director, James Comey, Trump endured weeks of excruciating bad press. His sudden decision also shocked Spicer and his communications team, sending them into a tailspin as they scrambled to speak for the president on the firing.

So part of the strategy to prepare for brutal legislative and investigative battles, as well as the 2018 election midterms, is “fresh faces,” as Trump likes to say. Trump likes to experiment with employees until things click. But in Washington, the battles are always petty and always obscure movement.

On that front, Scaramucci got off to a shaky start. Hitting the talk-show circuit on Sunday, he joked about keeping the makeup artist who prepared him for Friday’s first White House on-camera briefing in weeks. Pundits immediately pounced, suggesting he was making a snarky remark about Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the new White House press secretary.

Scaramucci, a former supporter of Jeb Bush, also said he would delete old tweets that slammed his new boss, President Trump. Why he hadn’t done so before he took the job is anyone’s guess. (The White House communications team did not return a message left by LifeZette.) But in deleting years-old tweets about politics, critics mocked Scaramucci for pretending to be transparent about the decision.

It shows Scaramucci, the smooth businessman and former commentator from Fox Business, is not above the media swamp. The mainstream media stand ready to mock any decision and pick apart any move, no matter how small-minded.

But firing Mueller would likely create a media firestorm.

Loyalists Pushed Aside?
In picking fights with loyalists, Trump is testing the limits of his strategies. He is separating himself from the people he will need the most.

Spicer was asked to stay but thought himself so frozen out that he had to leave. Chief of Staff Reince Priebus may also feel the same way — especially after Scaramucci said he reports directly to the president. (go to page 2 to continue reading)[lz_pagination]