Letter to the Students and Faculty of The Fletcher School at Tufts University

In October 2017, Carter Banker, a second-year student at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, started a petition to remove me from The Fletcher School’s Board of Advisors. The following is my response.

Dear Ms. Banker,

I would like to respond to your concerns about my membership on The Fletcher School’s Advisory Board.

You were quoted in the Tufts Daily stating that I am a “hypocrite” and “opportunist.” Your classmate, Camilo Caballero, wrote in the Tufts Daily that I am “an irresponsible, inconsistent, and unethical opportunist and who exuded the highest degree of disreputability.” Another one of your classmates, Christopher Ellison, told the Tufts Daily that my “wanton vulgarity is incommensurate with the decorum and dignity that our school must stand for.”

I want to concurrently address your collective criticisms.

I am a lifelong Republican. With a few exceptions — most notably my backing for President Barack Obama in 2008 — I have consistently supported Republican candidates for President. I joined the Trump campaign in April 2016 after first serving on the finance committees for Governors Scott Walker and Jeb Bush.

I trust we agree that my affiliation with the Republican Party is not disqualifying for service on the Fletcher School’s Advisory Board. Thus, I assume your quarrel is with my support for President Trump — the democratically-elected President of the United States who won 2,626 out of 3,141 American counties, including 217 counties that President Obama won in 2012.

Like many Republicans, I agree with Donald Trump on numerous issues and disagree with him on others. Despite our occasional differences of opinion, I continue to believe he will be a better President than Secretary Hillary Clinton would have been. While my political views may be objectionable to you, contrary to your accusation of hypocrisy, I have maintained a consistent and inclusive political ideology.

You have likely supported a political candidate with whom you have strong policy disagreements. President Obama, for example, opposed marriage equality for almost his entire first term. Was it hypocritical for gay rights advocates to work for his administration? I would not criticize President Obama as an “opportunist” for evolving on the issue of marriage equality. Intellectual curiosity produces new perspectives. My political views have been much more consistent than you imply, and I am not going to apologize for those instances where my politics have evolved. What you call “hypocrisy” and “opportunism” is actually growth and open-mindedness.

I want to address Mr. Caballero’s characterization of me as an “irresponsibile, inconsistent, and unethical opportunist and who exuded the highest degree of disreputability.” I have worked in the investment management industry for 28 years since graduating from law school. During that time, I have received zero material customer complaints (as evidenced by my pristine Form ADV). I have never been named as a defendant in a lawsuit. Many clients from my years at Goldman Sachs remain my clients today at SkyBridge Capital. People and institutions invest in my businesses because they trust me. There is zero evidence to support the spurious accusation that I am unethical. On the contrary, I am authentic and forthright — two qualities rare in Washington.

If Mr. Caballero disapproves of the financial industry, he should say so. But I am proud of my Wall Street career. I have done right by my clients and investors. I have created a significant number of well-paying jobs. My employees are hardworking and loyal because I am generous and supportive in kind.

I would also like to address Mr. Ellison’s statement that my “wanton vulgarity is incommensurate with the decorum and dignity that our school must stand for.” I mishandled my conversation with The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza on July 26th. I take full responsibility for my actions. I naïvely thought I was having a private, off-the-record conversation. However, while my words were colorful, they harmed nobody (other than myself). And while my words were salty, they were mostly true (albeit, in spots, metaphorical). In fact, the interview catalyzed positive changes for the Trump administration and the country. I have paid dearly for my mistake, and have become a better person for it.

Lastly, Mr. Caballero stated that I am a “man who makes his Twitter accessible to friends interested in giving comfort to Holocaust deniers.” You likewise identified the Holocaust poll on my nascent media venture, the Scaramucci Post, as a reason for launching your protest against me. I will provide you with the facts surrounding this incident, which hopefully clarifies some things.

In October, my business partner, Lance Laifer, who is Jewish, posted a poll on the Scaramucci Post Twitter account regarding the number of people who died in the Holocaust. The tweets preceding the Holocaust poll sought public reaction to Amazon selling Anne Frank Halloween costumes. Lance was understandably outraged at Amazon and tried to initiate a public conversation about the increasing lack of sensitivity to the Holocaust, particularly as the number of survivors begins to dwindle. When the tweets about the Anne Frank costume failed to generate much response, Lance posted the Holocaust poll in an effort to increase public engagement and awareness on the issue.

I was not consulted about the posting of the poll. At the time, I was in London at a speaking engagement. However, Lance works with me, and the Scaramucci Post bears my name, so I take full responsibility for the controversy. I understand how the poll, constrained by Twitter’s 140 character limit, could be misconstrued, and I wish that I had been consulted in advance of its posting. However, I do not question Lance’s motives, and I am frustrated that people question mine. I am a civil libertarian on social issues as my public positions and philanthropy reflect. Further, I am a student of history, particularly World War II. It is preposterous and offensive to suggest that I would either believe that the Holocaust did not occur or seek to convince people of this hateful lie. Last week, I visited Yad Vashem, the National Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, and made public remarks there that make clear my position on this matter.

Finally, you stated that “over and over again, he has displayed very, very poor judgment.” I have made plenty of mistakes in my life, but it is a long leap from one ill-advised five-minute phone conversation and one misunderstood tweet to “over and over again.” Before July 2017, my name recognition within your peer group was likely very low. Your opinion of me is shaped almost entirely by the media coverage I received this summer. By aligning myself with President Trump, I made myself a target for people who are determined to malign him. But I am a more complex and, candidly, better person than you give me credit for.

The Fletcher School is renowned for its education around public service and diplomacy. The school’s website reads, “Welcome to an Inclusive Campus.” Unfortunately, on college campuses across the country, students and faculty increasingly preach tolerance and free speech only if you agree with their ideas. Tufts can and must do better. My involvement with the Trump administration, and the infamous nature of my firing, are not reasons to remove me from the Fletcher School Advisory Board. Those unique and valuable experiences make me an even more valuable resource and well-rounded advisor.

In your diplomatic career, you will interact with people from all walks of life. You will engage with people of diverse political ideologies. It is easy and comfortable to live in an echo chamber. But you will learn much more by talking to people with whom you disagree. I hope we can use this controversy as an opportunity to begin, rather than end, a mutually beneficial conversation.

I hope you and your classmates will reconsider your protest. Regardless of the outcome, I am, forever, a Jumbo.

Respectfully,

Anthony Scaramucci