Erstwhile White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci is—once again—in hot water.
The Mooch’s new media business, Scaramucci Post, came under fire Tuesday morning, after publishing a Twitter poll asking “How many Jews were killed in the Holocaust?”
https://twitter.com/ScaramucciPost/status/920274523324329985
The company was launched following Scaramucci’s ouster from the White House, but a website does not yet exist. The Scaramucci Post Twitter account, on the other hand, has been active since August, primarily retweeting with the hashtag #SPThoughts and running Twitter polls.
The tweet, which has since been taken down, appeared to be in response to tweets about an Anne Frank Halloween costume. It was reportedly being sold as an educational costume, with the description reading: “Now your can child can play the role of a World War II hero,” and “We can always learn from the struggles of history!” The costume itself has been pulled from the company’s website following intense backlash and criticism on social media.
Users on Twitter expressed anger and disbelief at the poll, suggesting it was making light of the horror of the Holocaust and an act of trolling. Additionally, the response options offered did not actually include the accurate number: six million. The closest answer, “more than 5 million,” understates the number killed. Meanwhile, the answer option of “less than one million” sparked outrage among many, who saw it as a nod to Holocaust deniers.
Just over an hour after the poll was shared, the Scaramucci Post account tweeted that the “poll was put up by @lancelaifer without consulting @Scaramucci who is traveling in London. The poll has been taken down.”
The tweets, apparently written by Lance Laifer who runs the social team for Scaramucci Post, continued by saying that “The intent of the poll was to highlight ignorance of the basic facts of the Holocaust. I take full responsibility for it.” Laifer then tweeted from the Scaramucci Post account that he apologizes “if anyone was offended by the Holocaust poll.”