Evangelical Leader Urges Trump to Fire Anthony Scaramucci, Wash His Mouth With Soap
A prominent Christian conservative leader has called on President Donald Trump to fire White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci and wash his mouth out with soap after "the Mooch" reportedly went on a profanity-laced tirade in a publicized conversation with a reporter.
Bob Vander Plaats, the president of the Iowa-based social conservative advocacy group The Family Leader, who served as the national co-chair of Sen. Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign, took to The Family Leader website to voice his disapproval with Scaramucci last Friday.
"Freshly appointed Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci recently stated that a fish stinks from the head down. I agree. This is why President Trump must take quick and decisive action to preserve the legacy of our great republic," Vander Plaats wrote in the letter posted to the organization's website, adding that most pressing issues in the United States are no longer health care, the economy border security and infrastructure but "honor, integrity, trust, and the restoration of decency."
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"Mr. President, it is time to look in the mirror, accept responsibility, apologize to the American people, and declare an end to this behavior immediately," Vander Plaats wrote. "While what I'm urging may not be the 'Trump' brand, it is the brand of a leader. We need a leader. You must lead!"
Vander Plaats continued by suggesting that Trump begin by "first washing out Mr. Scaramucci's mouth with a bar of soap."
"After a thorough rinsing, strip his credentials and escort him personally off the White House grounds," Vander Plaats asserted.
Vander Plaats' post comes after it was reported last week that Scaramucci pressed a reporter with The New Yorker during a phone call about who leaked information about a dinner between Scaramucci, Trump, Sean Hannity and former Fox News executive Bill Shine. Scaramucci allegedly threatened to fire the entire White House communications staff if he didn't fess up to who told him about the dinner.
Throughout the conversation, in which Scaramucci reportedly accused White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus of being the leaker, he exhibited a lack of professionalism and included many curse words and vulgar language that referred a number of times to male genitals.
"What I want to do is I want to f****** kill all the leakers and I want to get the president's agenda on track so we can succeed for the American people," the New Yorker quoted him as saying.
Vander Plaats wrote in his letter that in order to truly "Make America Great Again," the nation must apply the lessons of his father's generation.
"His generation didn't become great by bombastic and slanderous vulgarity towards their enemies and, for sure, not their family, friends, and fellow patriots," Vander Plaats wrote. "They became great due to their sacrificial leadership by putting the cause of their mission above themselves while standing in the gap for others ... with humility, honor, integrity, respect, and genuine love."
Considering that there are numerous conservative evangelical pastors and activists who act as informal advisors to the White House, Vander Plaats called on them to speak out against the immoral behaviors of the president or his White House staff.
"To my fellow faith leaders: I urge you to fulfill your calling to be the prophetic voice to the king – in this case, President Trump. Your silence is an assent of approval," Vander Plaats contended. "There's no guarantee President Trump will repent and change his ways. This said, it is still our duty to privately and publicly confront, so our testimony is not compromised to a culture that hungers for true hope."
In addition to the op-ed, Vander Plaats mentioned the president in a tweet and directly urged him to fire Scaramucci.
Scaramucci replied to that tweet, saying, "Actually Bob I am the higher standard he is demanding. He is very happy with the job I am doing. #swamp."
To which Vander Plaats replied, "I really hope this is not true. If it is, it is most telling. I strongly urge @realDonaldTrump not to allow your standard to represent [the White House]."
Vander Plaats is not the only one calling out the silence from many evangelical leaders' on Scaramucci.
Tim Morris, an opinion columnist at the Times-Picayune, wrote an op-ed on Friday explaining the "Christian view" of such language displayed by Scaramucci "demeans those made in the image of God."
"I understand that many white evangelical Christians believed that Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party platform were anathema. I understand that many believed (hoped?) that Trump's profession of faith was real and that he would protect religious liberty and the rights of the unborn," Morris wrote. "But for the good of the nation and of the president, these evangelical advisers need to make it clear that this kind of language and behavior is not acceptable. This is not a time for compromising our beliefs for political access and influence. 'For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?'"
Nationally syndicated radio host Steve Deace stated in a tweet on Friday: "If you're silent about the trash from Trump's comms guy, but would be livid if it were a Democrat, you're not a 'Christian leader.'"
On Saturday, John Fea, the chair of the history department at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, wrote an op-ed titled "Scaramucci Rants and the Court Evangelicals are Silent."
"I think it is fair to say that any ordinary person who made such vulgar and inappropriate accusations would be immediately fired from his job," Fea asserted.
