Trump's inner circle weaponizes chaos for profit —while the president flails: former aide

Trump's former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci laid bare a disturbing truth about the current administration on Wednesday: the president's erratic behavior isn't a bug in the system—it's a feature that insiders are actively exploiting for personal gain.

Speaking on The Daily Beast Podcast, Scaramucci described an administration where Trump functions as what he called "an empty vessel"—a tool for opportunists looking to advance their own agendas while profiting from the chaos.

"People are like, OK, this is an empty vessel," Scaramucci said. "I can use this guy as a means to get what I want in Washington."

But the scheme extends far beyond backroom politics. Scaramucci alleged that Trump's unpredictable announcements are being weaponized for financial gain.

"Someone's shorting oil stocks 11 minutes before he makes an announcement," Scaramucci said. "Trump makes an announcement, and then they close the position."

He pointed to Trump's late-night phone calls with donors and allies as a potential pipeline for market-moving information—a dynamic that could constitute insider trading if coordinated.

The result is a presidency where chaos itself becomes monetizable. Scaramucci described how administration officials and their allies can exploit Trump's volatility for profit while simultaneously using him as cover to implement ideological priorities.

"I can implement my Project 2025. I can implement my wholesale changes to the American military," Scaramucci explained. "I can use this guy as a means, as a medium, to get what I want in Washington. So let's keep him propped up."

When it comes to Trump's standoff with Iran, Scaramucci dismissed any notion that a coherent geopolitical strategy is at play.

"He's got no strategy," Scaramucci said flatly. "If you have no idea what you're doing, your enemy also doesn't know what you're doing."

While unpredictability can occasionally provide tactical advantage, Scaramucci warned that Trump's improvisation comes with devastating costs. As oil production remains disrupted and supply chains tighten, energy prices could reach levels that threaten political catastrophe.

"His base is not going to love $8-a-gallon gas," Scaramucci said.

Most alarmingly, Scaramucci noted that unlike Trump's first term, there are no institutional guardrails left. No advisors willing or able to constrain the president.

"There's nobody controlling him," Scaramucci said. "This is a very different administration than Trump one."

That absence of internal checks has created a vacuum—one that opportunists and ideologues are rushing to fill. They shape policy. They profit from volatility. And the president, increasingly unpredictable with age, enables it all.

"He's going to be like an open floodgate," Scaramucci warned.

Anthony Scaramucci is a financier and political figure who served as White House Communications Director for just 10 days in July 2017—the shortest tenure in that role.

A former hedge fund manager and Fox News contributor, Scaramucci was initially a Trump supporter but became a vocal critic after his White House exit. He has since emerged as a prominent voice calling out Trump's behavior and policies, frequently appearing on television and podcasts.

Scaramucci founded SkyBridge Capital and has maintained a high media profile as a Trump antagonist, leveraging his insider experience to provide commentary on administration dysfunction and chaos.