Putin 'has a hold on Trump', claims Anthony Scaramucci - admitting his wife 'hates the President more than Melania'

21 May 2025, 18:35 | Updated: 21 May 2025, 20:26

Anthony Scaramucci explains why he thinks Putin 'has a hold' on Donald Trump

Anthony Scaramucci has claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin 'has a hold on Trump' - amid claims the US President is 'nervous' about potentially compromising material.

Speaking with Tom Swarbrick at Drive, the former White House communications chief admitted he was "not optimistic" about Trump brokering a potential ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.

"Rubio says he’s going to put sanctions on them - that’s not going to happen under Donald Trump." he insisted.

Pressed further by Swarbrick on the prospect of peace between Ukraine and Russia, Scaramucci suggested the very real existence of "kompromat" - compromising material collected for blackmail and extortion purposes.

"I think there’s a hold Vladimir Putin has on Donald Trump," he admitted. "I don’t know what it is. It’s not a Pee Pee tape - that’s not enough to demolish Trump.

"It has to be something far more significant than that," he conceded.

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"This is a rich guy, Donald Trump, worth millions of dollars. He’s running the most successful economy in the world. He has the most powerful military.

"And yet, he’s curtailing to Vladimir Putin - and he does it consistently."

Describing Trump's relationship with the Russian president as "a love affair", Scaramucci insisted the existence of 'kompromat' is a "well-established thing... We don’t know what it is".

“On the evening he was elected, they were running naked pictures of Melania. It’s signalling," Scaramucci told Swarbrick.

"They are signalling to him that they’ve got something on him - and they’re flexing on him and he’s nervous about it.

"You’re telling me he just loves Russian nationalism? You’re telling me he wants to disendow the NATO alliance and rebuke our allies?" he continued.

"When the windows open and you hear a clippety klop, it’s a horse not a zebra. You don’t have to overthink this thing."

Admitting he "didn’t think Trump was going to win" the 2016 election, Scaramucci - known widely as 'The Mooch' - conceded: "I have to own this for the rest of my life, it’s a cautionary tale".

He went on to describe the US President as the "Napoleon of the political world".

"I took the job, that’s something I’ve got to own.... my wife hates Trump probably more than Melania."