Donald Trump

Three Mistakes That Made Donald Trump

In an exclusive interview with Reason, Anthony Scaramucci identifies three Washington decisions that helped fuel the anger that Trump harnessed.

Ryan Curtis | 9.23.2026 2:15 PM

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President Donald Trump rose to power by talking to desperate, distrustful, and angry Americans. In an interview with Reason, Anthony Scaramucci provides three critical mistakes that led to this atmosphere.

Trump currently holds some of the lowest approval ratings ever for a president prior to a midterm election, with 39.5 percent approval, according to RealClearPolitics. But it's not entirely Trump's fault. A Gallup poll in February 1999 reported that 71 percent of the country was satisfied with "the way things [were] going in the U.S.," but that number has been declining for most of the last 25 years. Today it sits at just 21 percent.

Trump is unpopular, and American politics are unpopular. There is a deep sense in this nation that things aren't working.

In an appearance on The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie, financier and former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci—who infamously served for just 11 days during Trump's first term—proposes some answers for how we got here and where the country could go next.

1. The Hollowing Out of American Industry

The classic explanation for Trump's 2016 victory is that he captured a traditionally Democratic base of rural and industrial workers. Scaramucci characterizes this base as "once aspirational white blue-collar workers, now feeling economically desperational. [Trump] was an avatar for their anger, and they showed up."

Exit polls from the 2016 election showed a 9-point swing away from Democrats........

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