So, remember Anthony Scaramucci? The guy who had a famously brief stint as White House communications director? Well, he's back with a message for his old boss, and it's not a friendly one. In a blistering critique, Scaramucci says President Donald Trump's economic policies are basically a masterclass in how to mess things up.
On Tuesday, Scaramucci took to X to lay out what he called "the complete list of Trump's unforced economic errors." His main beef? A climate of fear and uncertainty that's making everyone from big corporations to everyday workers freeze up.
"Pull back on the tariffs. Push forward on the tariffs again. Uncertainty for every business in America. Nobody can invest. Nobody knows what the rules are tomorrow," he wrote. It's the classic business nightmare: you can't plan for next quarter if you don't know what the trade rules will be next week.
But it's not just tariffs. Scaramucci connects the dots to foreign policy and even domestic crackdowns. "Go to war. Knock energy prices through the roof. Go after people in the streets with violent demonstrations of force," he said, adding that "fear dims economic innovation." The idea is simple: when people are scared—whether it's businesses facing unpredictable tariffs or workers afraid to leave their homes—they stop spending and innovating. The economy grinds to a halt.
He specifically pointed to the economic role of undocumented workers, arguing that policies that terrorize this population don't just hurt them; they hurt the whole economy by removing participants. "If you make them afraid to leave the house, afraid to spend money, afraid to participate in the economy — you don't just hurt them," Scaramucci said.
His bottom-line assessment was brutally concise: "Everything that could be done wrong has been done wrong. And we're just getting started on paying the price for it." Ouch.
This isn't Scaramucci's first warning siren. He recently cautioned that the combination of rising tariffs and an energy shock could push the U.S. into a 1970s-style stagflation trap—that awful mix of high inflation and stagnant growth. The result? Consumers save instead of spend, and the stock market faces a "deeper correction."
He also pointed to skyrocketing gasoline prices, warning they are heading toward $8 a gallon. For most Americans, that's not an abstract economic indicator; it's a weekly gut punch at the pump. Scaramucci suggests this could be a breaking point politically, as approval ratings slide.
Earlier, he framed part of his concern in moral terms, commenting on international events. As Iran staged massive civilian protests at power plants just hours before a Trump strike deadline, Scaramucci warned that democracies must uphold international law. "We can’t become what we despise in our enemies," he said.
Put it all together, and Scaramucci is painting a picture of an economy being squeezed from all sides: by policy whiplash, by fear, and by costs going through the roof. It's a stark warning from someone who was once inside the tent.
