Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci ignited a storm of speculation Wednesday after posting a pointed historical reference many saw as a jab at President Donald Trump.
Scaramucci Shares Iranian Revolution Quote Targeting Leadership Blind Spots
On X, Scaramucci shared a passage from Scott Anderson's “King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution,” describing how Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi surrounded himself with sycophants who doctored economic data to please him.
The excerpt noted that statistics on unemployment and inflation were routinely falsified, creating an illusion of stability before the Shah was toppled in 1979.
The book's broader context recounts how the Shah, once praised by U.S. President Jimmy Carter, was forced into exile just 14 months later amid a sweeping revolution.
‘Remind You Of Anyone?’ Sparks Speculation Over Comparison With Trump
Scaramucci captioned the image simply: "Remind you of anyone," a remark that quickly drew thousands of comments debating which current figure he was referencing, which most people guessed to be Trump.
While some people appeared to support Scaramucci’s sentiments, others endorsed the Republican President as the right choice to lead the nation forward.
Notably, Scaramucci was ousted as White House communications director after just 11 days on the job in 2017. Last year, he spoke about Kamala Harris replacing Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket, saying it had unsettled Trump, forcing him to adjust his attack strategy.
See More: Scaramucci on Tariffs: ‘There Is Stupid and Then There Is Donald Trump Stupid'
Economists Slam Trump's Pick To Replace Fired BLS Chief
The quote Scaramucci shared, which mentioned doctored unemployment data, might have been a reference to the ongoing debate about Trump firing Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Dr. Erika McEntarfer.
Earlier this month, Trump fired McEntarfer, alleging that the jobs report released that day contained "rigged" numbers intended to make Republicans and him look bad.
Economist Paul Krugman has also warned that Trump is prioritizing political narratives over facts, highlighting the firing of BLS McEntarfer after a weak jobs report and the National Guard deployment in D.C. despite falling crime rates.
He also ridiculed claims that police are manipulating crime statistics and cautions that this trend of sidelining facts could spread to inflation reporting and public health, potentially masking declining U.S. life expectancy.
Trump fired back at Krugman, dismissing the economist's criticism as a personal vendetta. The president posted on Truth Social that Krugman's "doom and gloom" economic predictions have been wrong for years.
The July jobs report from the BLS showed a disappointing increase of only 73,000 jobs, falling short of expectations. Even more striking, May and June figures were sharply revised downward, slashing previously reported gains by a total of 258,000. Together, these revisions suggest the labor market is losing momentum at a faster-than-anticipated pace.
On Tuesday, Trump's nomination of Dr. EJ Antoni to lead the BLS had drawn sharp criticism from top economists, including former White House adviser Jason Furman, who had called Antoni "completely unqualified" and an "extreme partisan" with no relevant expertise.
Who Agrees With Trump And Who Doesn’t
The firing marks a rare political intrusion into the traditionally independent BLS, with Jason Furman, former chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, warning that manipulating economic data—citing Argentina and Greece—can trigger severe financial crises.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) also condemned President Trump's firing of the BLS chief as "dangerous," saying it could erode public trust in government jobs data following a weak July report.
Investor Kevin O'Leary criticized President Trump's firing of BLS Commissioner, arguing that dismissing her was wrong because "you don’t shoot the messenger."
Republicans and the White House justified the firing, arguing that new leadership is needed to bolster trust in employment data.
A senior official told Reuters the change would produce "more dependable figures," while former White House economist Kevin Hassett said that having Trump's appointees oversee the agency would result in clearer and more trustworthy reports.
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