Donald Trump's new communications chief has deleted tweets in which he shared views contrary to the US president's own, saying they were a distraction.
The day after he started his new job Friday, Anthony Scaramucci, a New York financier, cleared up his Twitter trail of remarks in which he differs from Trump on illegal immigration, climate change, Islam and even gun control.
“Full transparency: I'm deleting old tweets. Past views evolved & shouldn't be a distraction. I serve @POTUS agenda & that's all that matters,” the new man on the White House job announced on Twitter.
A bit later, Scaramucci followed up with “The politics of 'gotcha' are over. I have thick skin and we're moving on to @POTUS agenda serving the American people.” In a 2012 comment he tweeted, he appeared to back many causes long championed by Democrats, describing himself as “for Gay Marriage, against the death penalty, and Pro Choice.”
White House press secretary Sean Spicer abruptly resigned Friday in protest at Scaramucci's hiring.
In a written statement, Trump said he was “grateful” for Spicer's work and praised his “great television ratings” — a reference to Spicer's keenly watched, combative and often-satirized news briefings.
Spicer's departure marked rising tensions in an administration that has seen its legislative agenda falter at the same time it has been buffeted by an investigation into alleged collusion with Russia.
Vows to 'stop those leaks'
Scaramucci vowed to usher in a fresh start in the White House, beginning with a clampdown on unauthorised leaks that have led to months of largely unfavourable headlines.
“One of the first things I want to do is to get the leaks stopped,” Scaramucci told the Fox News Sunday program.
“It's Washington, so it's going to be impossible to stop all of them, but I think what's going on right now is a high level of unprofessionalism and it's not serving the president,” he said, adding that if needed, “I will take dramatic action to stop those leaks.”
He spelled out what “dramatic action” might mean in comments to another news program — promising to fire those found to speak without authorization to the media.
“If they want to stay on the staff, they're going to stop leaking,” he told CBS television's “Face the Nation” talk show.
