Anthony Scaramucci, the new White House
communications director, considers himself an ally to the LGBT
community.
Scaramucci was named to the post on
Friday. In speaking to reporters he vowed to reshape President
Donald Trump's image.
“I think there's been at times a
disconnect between the way we see the president and how much we love
the president, and the way some of you perhaps see the president,”
said Scaramucci, who earlier this year sold his stake in the global
investment firm SkyBridge Capital to serve in the Trump
administration. “To use a Wall Street expression, there might be
an albatross spread between how well we are doing and how well some
of you guys think we are doing, and we're going to work hard to close
that spread.”
Scaramucci is the former host of Wall
Street Week on the Fox Business Network and is a regular
contributor to Fox News.
According to the
Washington
Blade, Scaramucci in November talked about being “a gay
rights activist.”
“You can look it up. I've given to
American Unity PAC. I've given to the Human Rights Campaign. I'm
for marriage equality. And by the way, this'll be the first American
president in U.S. history that enters the White House with a pro-gay
rights stance,” he
told the BBC's Hardtalk.
The Blade pointed out that
Scaramucci most likely confused the American Unity Fund, which helps
elect pro-LGBT Republican candidates, with the American Unity PAC, a
political action committee.
Scaramucci has also criticized a
controversial, now partially repealed North Carolina law that
restricted bathroom access for transgender people, calling it
“shameful” in a tweet last year.
HRC President Chad Griffin said in a
statement given to the Blade that he hopes Scaramucci will influence
Trump officials on such issues.
“Anthony has been [a] strong
supporter of LGBTQ rights in the past, and we hope he is able to
influence the Trump administration to abandon their attacks on all
those who make up our diverse community,” Griffin said.
On Friday, White House press secretary
Sean Spicer resigned in protest over Scaramucci's appointment.
(Related: Trump
picks openly gay Richard Grenell for ambassador to Germany.)