Stephen Colbert: Self - Host

Quotes 

• Anthony Scaramucci : I think President bush said the same thing

  Himself - Host : sure

  Anthony Scaramucci : being a Communications Director is a difficult job

  Himself - Host : my original question was and we'll move on: why do you think, you're a guy who said that he "free throws with a top coat"

  Anthony Scaramucci : [jokingly]  I've seen him do that

  Himself - Host : by not saying that and condemning white supremacists and neo Nazis is a "one inch putt," why do you think he "choked"?

  Anthony Scaramucci : again, I think there's a counter-intuitive" thing with him as it relates to the media, the media is expecting him to do something. He sometimes does the exact opposite

  Himself - Host : [interrupts him]  but just "thumb his nose at them"?

  Anthony Scaramucci : [interrupts him]  but some of that worked during the campaign because...

  Himself - Host : [interrupts him]  but the campaign is over and now he is the President

  Anthony Scaramucci : I understand that but his also out there, going out there to see his "base." His flown to West Virginia, Youngstown Ohio, and other places

  Himself - Host : but his "base" isn't Nazis,

  Anthony Scaramucci : of course, not

  Himself - Host : I'm not saying that either

  Anthony Scaramucci : but let's be fair to him, today he did condemn the Nazis today

  Himself - Host : two days later, did he order his spine on Amazon Prime? Why did it take so long?

  Anthony Scaramucci : [while the audience cheers and applauses]  that's a good line and I said yesterday he should've been tougher on it. The problem is I'm probably the only person that would come from the Trump administration to sit here

  Himself - Host : I'm grateful your here...

  Anthony Scaramucci : [interrupts him]  to come here and answer that question for you but only he really can answer that question. I said yesterday and I maintained his got to be tougher on that stuff, if he wants his legislative agenda to pass. His got to take a more "moderate" direction. His got to "appeal" to people that are Independents and Moderates that possibly voted for him to help him ascend to the Presidency

  Himself - Host : [intentionally changing the topic]  ok, what's it like in the white House?

  Anthony Scaramucci : small

  Himself - Host : I've been in the building, what I mean is what is it like because from the outside it looks like a "dumpster fire" what is like?

  Anthony Scaramucci : it's not a "dumpster fire"

  Himself - Host : [interrupts him]  there's rumors of in-fighting and that there's chaos, what was it like for the ten days that you were in there?

  Anthony Scaramucci : it's a tough place, there was a lot of "in-fighting." The "front stabbing" or "back stabbing," I think you said that two weeks ago

• Himself - Host : yeah

  Anthony Scaramucci : I have a tendency to be very open and very honest with people, what ends up happening is that there are people that don't do that, what they do is go behind each other's back and leak things to the press and they say nasty things about each other to try to "destabilize" them or to influence the President's judgement of them so at least whatever you think about me, I was pretty "open" about how I felt about people. I would tell you the way a good culture would work is I've run two reasonably successful organizations you've got to have on some level of esprit de corps, and it didn't start that way

  Himself - Host : were you brought in just get rid of Reince Priebus? And Sean Spicer?

  Anthony Scaramucci : I don't want to say it that way

  Himself - Host : was it apart of your job?

  Anthony Scaramucci : I would say...

  Himself - Host : [interrupts him, referring to his nickname]  say it like "The Mooch"

  Anthony Scaramucci : so, the "The Mooch" would say there's no love lost there, the weird thing is about my relationship with Reince Priebus is that we were pretty good friends when I was a political donor with writing checks for the RNC but once I became part of the administration or was about to enter the administration for whatever reason it was a little more adversarial

  Himself - Host : you thought he was one of the "leakers"?

  Anthony Scaramucci : I did

  Himself - Host : ok his gone, right?

  Anthony Scaramucci : uh huh

  Himself - Host : who's "leaking" now?Is it Steve Bannon?

  Anthony Scaramucci : well, I've said that

  Himself - Host : [referring to the live audience]  I know, say it now, say it to these people

  Anthony Scaramucci : I've been pretty open about that...

  Himself - Host : [interrupts him]  is Steve Bannon the leaker?

  Anthony Scaramucci : I said he was, and obviously he got caught on tape saying that so I have no problem saying that

  Himself - Host : ok

  Anthony Scaramucci : but that...

  Himself - Host : [interrupts him]  is he going to be gone in a week?

  Anthony Scaramucci : that's up to the President...

  Himself - Host : [interrupts him]  what do think? What does "The Mooch" think?

  Anthony Scaramucci : well, if it was up to me he'd be gone.

  Himself - Host : [applause from the audience]  ok

• Anthony Scaramucci : but it's not up to me

  Himself - Host : [after looking down at his notecards]  ok you said that "his trying to suck his own ****"

  Anthony Scaramucci : [referring to saying profanity on national television]  your allowed to say that?

  Himself - Host : yeah, it's cool

  Anthony Scaramucci : alright

  Himself - Host : [referring to his producers]  they said it's cool. They said I can say it tonight

  Anthony Scaramucci : [directly to the camera]  mom, I'm sorry he said that

  Himself - Host : [directly to the camera]  I said "sock," that's what was behind the bleep

  Anthony Scaramucci : [directly to the camera referring to Stephen]  he did autograph one of those cartoons for you so it's fine

  Himself - Host : [referring to performing oral sex on himself]  here's the deal: are you telling us that you've never even tried? Because as an adult male, that does not pass the "smell test."

  Anthony Scaramucci : [after the laughter and applause from the audience stops]  Eddie Murphy said if he could do that, he'd never leave the house

  Himself - Host : that's right

  Anthony Scaramucci : no, I'm not "capable" of doing "that"

  Himself - Host : I'm not saying "capable," no said you succeeded

  Anthony Scaramucci : [referring to Steve Bannon]  his probably not "capable" of doing it either

  Himself - Host : [after returning from commercial break, referring to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia]  Mooch, David Duke was at this rally, he said they want to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump that is why the Klan voted for him

  Anthony Scaramucci : uh huh

  Himself - Host : are there elements of white supremacy within the White House right now? Is Steve Bannon a white supremacist?

  Anthony Scaramucci : [after remaining silent]  again, I don't think his a white supremacist. I never asked him if he is one, what I don't like though is the "toleration" of it. It should be something completely and totally "in-tolerated"

  Himself - Host : ok

  Anthony Scaramucci : [after applause from the audience]  for me you have to understand most people in this audience and perhaps your family and definitely my family has experienced some level of discrimination and I find it disgusting and reprehensible and I will denounce it every living day of my life

  Himself - Host : do you feel "burned" by your experience at the White House? You were there for ten days, you were extremely loyal to the President and even to this point, you were "shown the door" as it were. Do you feel "burned" or back stabbed?

  Anthony Scaramucci : not at all

  Anthony Scaramucci : really?

  Anthony Scaramucci : let me put it this way: when you take a job like that, you know your expiration date is coming. I didn't think I was going to last "too long" but I think I would've lasted longer than a carton of milk. My point is you take that job recognizing that your serving at the behest and the duty of the President of the United States and if "he" doesn't want you there anymore, you've got to respectfully leave and you've got to leave with honor. I've made a lot of mistakes and I've tried to own up to those mistakes.

• Anthony Scaramucci : [while sitting down, after getting booed from the audience]  I'll pretend those are "mooching" and not booing

  Himself - Host : we'll find out later, thanks for being here

  Anthony Scaramucci : it's great to be here

  Himself - Host : is it?

  Anthony Scaramucci : I got a list of your comedy writers: my "kill" list, they're all in the back and I wrote them all down

  Himself - Host : you're comedically threatening people to kill people who work for me?

  Anthony Scaramucci : [after laughter from the audience]  no, I'm kidding. I'm not allowed to joke anymore. I've learned that

  Himself - Host : I just want to start by saying and I want you to know, just for the record that this is on the record, and this is all being recorded right now

  Anthony Scaramucci : thank you

  Himself - Host : I said no "gotcha" questions but I'm going to lead with one

  Anthony Scaramucci : [nods after laughter from the audience]  ok

  Himself - Host : Nazis, good or bad?

  Anthony Scaramucci : super bad

  Himself - Host : why do you think the President of the United States who you called the most "media savvy person of our times," would "shank a softball" like that so hard when he should have come out there and condemn the people who were there to start violence?

  Anthony Scaramucci : well, I think there is a couple of issues there, he said the "all sides" thing

  Himself - Host : it was "many sides"

  Anthony Scaramucci : I said he should've been way harsher than that

  Himself - Host : harsher on that how?

  Anthony Scaramucci : well, he should've condemned the white supremacists

  Himself - Host : ok

  Anthony Scaramucci : and neo Nazis

  Himself - Host : who stopped him from doing that?

  Anthony Scaramucci : well, I think at the end of the day, it was the President himself. I'm not going to blame or point fingers at anyone

  Himself - Host : but why the President? Why not blame or point fingers at the President?

  Anthony Scaramucci : ok so...

• Himself - Host : [interrupts him]  his responsible

  Anthony Scaramucci : [after applause from the audience]  you were asking about someone in the administration

  Himself - Host : ok

  Anthony Scaramucci : but I think it was late, I'm not going to say it wasn't but he did go to the White House today and he did make a statement and you said it was very declarative against it

  Himself - Host : the President had prepared remarks on Saturday

  Anthony Scaramucci : listen you could...

  Himself - Host : [interrupts him]  the one that's written down or the one that he just comes up with in the moment?

  Anthony Scaramucci : you can be super rough on me and be super rough on him but he is a "compassionate" person. I know him as a "compassionate" person.

  Himself - Host : [as the audience boos]  well that's alright but don't boo him for being the messenger

  Anthony Scaramucci : it's ok

  Himself - Host : in what way is he a "compassionate" person"? What is the evidence of that?

  Anthony Scaramucci : well, it's a super tough job

  Himself - Host : yeah

  Anthony Scaramucci : he made a step to give up what was a luxurious lifestyle

  Himself - Host : who cares? We're really supposed to feel bad for a guy because he gave up his billion-dollar lifestyle to be the most powerful man in the world? I don't understand

  Anthony Scaramucci : but that was "touch and go" though

  Himself - Host : what was "touch and go"?

  Anthony Scaramucci : I think when he started his campaigning it was unclear if he was going to win or not. I mean at the end of the day...

  Himself - Host : [interrupts him]  but that's for everybody,

  Anthony Scaramucci : I understand that but it's a huge sacrifice to do this stuff you may not agree with me on that

  Himself - Host : it is a huge sacrifice but one of the things you don't get to do is complain about it

  Anthony Scaramucci : I haven't heard him complain about it

  Himself - Host : he has, he said "it's a very hard job." He said, "I could've continued my previous lifestyle."

  Anthony Scaramucci : that's him just wearing his "heart on his sleeve." That's him expressing himself. I think President Obama and Michelle Obama expressed it, it's a "fish bowl," it's a difficult job

  Himself - Host : sure

• Himself - Host : [referring to losing his job as the Communications Director]  what would you do differently if you could go back?

  Anthony Scaramucci : I've really thought about that and I would say absolutely nothing. I'll tell you why: because what you don't want to do is "morph" yourself or "change" yourself, you just want to "be" yourself and if the good Lord puts you in the direction or in a "stream" that's going the right way, great things will happen and if they don't happen. That's fine too.