Anthony Scaramucci ’89 was a guest in Trial Advocacy Workshop on Wednesday, January 17. Professor Ron Sullivan ’94 invited him to the class to share his experiences and talk about how Trial Advocacy Workshop benefited him in his career in finance, business, and politics.
“Opportunities like these are among the many reasons I love being at Harvard Law School,” said 2L Matthew Folks. “I have immense respect for Professor Sullivan for inviting Mr. Scaramucci and to Mr. Scaramucci himself for coming. He was not under any illusion that most students were going to welcome him, his politics, or his friends with open arms.”
After speaking about his experiences, Scaramucci opened the floor to questions about “everything.” When a student asked Scaramucci to comment on President Trump’s history of racially charged language, he said, “There’s a full transparency on people, what they say, how they say it, and how it comes across.” He discussed when Ari Melber of MSNBC called him a “studio gangster”: “If I was black, are you gonna use the n-word on live TV? Do you get the point of what I’m saying to you? [President Trump] is not a racist.”
Not all students were happy to hear from him. Reportedly, several walked out. “Putting disparaging remarks to Scaramucci on the same level with structural barriers that continue today for black and immigrant Americans minimizes the injustice these groups continue [to face] today,” said 2L Leilani Doktor. “It may have been productive to reveal our inability to discuss race and a fundamental disconnect of partisan groups to talk about discrimination.”
Scaramucci last came to campus on March 22, 2016.