'Trump Is An Ageist,' Says Anthony Scaramucci. He Claims Saudi Prince MBS Used Trump's Disregard For Younger People To Play Him
According to the former White House communications director, Trump's foreign policy tour may look like a renaissance of American engagement, but it's also riddled with self-interest and personal blind spots.
One of those blind spots? Age.
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"Trump is an aegist," Scaramucci said flatly. "He respects people that are his age. He doesn't respect people that are not his age." He continued, "If you're 40, talking to Trump, he actually looks at you like he doesn't give a sh*t. If you're 60, talking to Trump, he rolls his eyes. If [Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) Chairman and CEO] Steve Schwarzman, age 80, calls Donald Trump, he picks up the phone."
Scaramucci said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, took advantage of that tendency. "He's got an elderly father that's the king. You want to be feted and treated like a king? I'm half your age, I am going to glitz you up in a way that you're going to leave here very, very happy."
Trump, now 78, was met with extraordinary hospitality in Saudi Arabia this week—lavender carpets, horses, fighter jet escorts. Scaramucci believes MBS's deference wasn't just cultural, it was calculated. "That's exactly what he did," Scaramucci said.
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Throughout the episode, host Katty Kay and Scaramucci dissected Trump's whirlwind week of diplomacy, which included stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Trump delivered speeches, pushed economic deals and attempted to reshape America's foreign policy stance.
And while critics often describe Trump as isolationist, Scaramucci pointed out that this approach was much more interventionist than expected. "He talked about re-engineering the way America thinks about the Middle East and trying to foment peace and prosperity," Scaramucci said, adding that even former CIA officials praised Trump's speech in Saudi Arabia during the U.S.-Saudi investment forum.
Still, he warned there's another side to Trump's diplomacy. "There's one angel on his shoulder saying you could really be a great president if you just calm the f*** down," he said. "Then he's got the devil on the other side saying, 'Hey, I want to make $200 billion for my family before I blow out of this presidency.'"
Scaramucci, who briefly worked as the White House Communications Director in the first Trump administration, said this split is what defines Trump on the world stage. "He's our two-faced president," he said, referencing the Batman villain.Kay noted that while Trump's focus on economic deals might yield some success in the Gulf region, the same strategy hasn't worked in places like Ukraine or Gaza, where cultural and existential issues override financial incentives. "In some countries the sort of mercantilist theory of foreign policy might work," Kay said. "But [Trump's] theory doesn't take into account historical or cultural or ethnic forces."
Despite these flaws, Scaramucci admitted the president has unusual stamina. "For a 79-year-old, he has tremendous energy."
Yet, that energy may be going to more than just foreign policy. The episode also dove into Trump's possible financial gains from these diplomatic ventures, including controversies around a lavish Qatari jetliner some are calling "Qatar Force One."
Scaramucci brushed it off as a distraction. "Let me shoot out the $400 million plane over here as a bauble to distract everybody while I'm working on a few billion dollars somewhere, either in the Middle East or elsewhere in the world for myself and my family," he said.
As foreign governments roll out the red carpet, Scaramucci warns that Trump's priorities may be more about profit than policy. "This is the globalism of greed," Kay said, quoting an unnamed economist.
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This article 'Trump Is An Ageist,' Says Anthony Scaramucci. He Claims Saudi Prince MBS Used Trump's Disregard For Younger People To Play Him originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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With current savings far beyond Fidelity's milestones, the saver said he's very confident about his ability to retire. The saver also said he does not have a spouse with whom he shares a retirement strategy, or any children. Based on the information he shared, Financial Planning asked advisors: "What single step could make the biggest difference in this person's retirement readiness?" Here's what they said: Responses have been edited for length and clarity. Bridging the gap for an early retirement John Power, principal of Power PlansThe most important thing he can do is refine his income needs in retirement based on what he wants retirement to look like. Retiring at 55 means he will need private health insurance for 10 years until he is Medicare eligible, and it can be quite expensive. He also needs to craft a withdrawal plan for the next five years to avoid penalties, then the next several years until he chooses when to claim Social Security. Jamie Ebersole, founder of Ebersole FinancialThe significant challenge will be that the individual will have no steady income stream starting at the age of 55, which means there is a significant gap between the time that he will be able to take Social Security payments and when it will be optimal to start drawing down on retirement accounts. So finding a way to fund the years from 55 to 67 or 68 will be critical. This usually is most tax efficient when assets are taken from taxable accounts, so building up those balances in addition to retirement accounts will be important for this interim period. Switching investment gears Carlos Salmon, partner at Wooster Square AdvisorsThe key next step is to move from aggressive growth to a more balanced and risk-aware strategy. He should consider converting pretax funds to a Roth account for better tax efficiency and plan ahead for health care costs before he becomes eligible for Medicare. In short, what got him to this point won't necessarily carry him through the next phase. Figuring out what retirement could look like Michael Espinosa, president of TrueNorth RetireThe single biggest thing this individual can do to prepare for retirement has little to do with money. This person needs to make sure that he has purpose, so that he is retiring to something and not just from something. I could give some specific pointers around optimizing his portfolio, and making sure he is prepared for medical coverage and all that good stuff, but I have seen where good savers have a hard time flipping the switch to spending. This, above all else, needs to get worked out: envisioning how he will spend his time, energy and focus once work is optional. Jamie Ebersole, founder of Ebersole FinancialObviously, he has done a great job of saving up to this point in his life. 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