Trump trade policy 'nonsensical': Scaramucci

Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who served for 10 days during President Trump’s first term, slammed Trump’s approach to trade policy as “nonsensical” in an interview on Tuesday.

Scaramucci told CNN's “The Situation Room” that even if the president manages to open negotiations with U.S. trading partners, “he’s leaving them with sore feelings” and creating long-term damage to America's reputation of trustworthiness abroad.

“The stuff that he's doing is nonsensical,” Scaramucci said. “And even if he gets some wins here, he's like an arsonist who sets fire to the house and then runs outside with the hose, puts it out … and then declares victory.”

“So it's just, it's nonsensical stuff,” he continued. “And the people in the business community know that. They're just afraid to speak out about it.”

Trump announced sweeping global tariffs last Wednesday, including a 10 percent baseline tariff on countries, with higher individual "reciprocal" rates.

The tariffs have sent global markets tumbling, and White House officials have said they have been flooded with calls from countries looking to negotiate. Trump has recently signaled an openness to negotiating, even as he defends his tariff strategy.

Scaramucci rejected the idea that Trump’s approach could be a “winning strategy for Americans," pointing to the economic "shock waves."

“I mean, this is really just President Trump and his attention-getting addiction. You're breaching the trust of our allies. You're breaching the trust of our trading partners,” Scaramucci said.

“There were so many different ways he could have handled this more adeptly, more politically astute, but it wouldn't have gotten him the attention that he wanted,” he added. “He's very excited about all of us talking about him. He's very excited about setting Wall Street bankers’ hair on fire, all that sort of nonsense.”

The White House defended the president's motivations in a response to Scaramucci.

“The only special interest guiding President Trump’s decisions is the interest of the American people," White House spokesman Kush Desai said in an emailed statement.

"The entire administration is aligned on addressing the national emergency that President Trump has rightfully identified is posed by our country running regular trade deficits – deficits that have meant the decimation of American industry, hollowing out of American communities, and trillions of dollars of American wealth flowing into the hands of foreigners.”

Updated: 3:57 p.m.