Anthony Scaramucci has dismissed his foul-mouthed tirade to the New Yorker in which he called Reince Priebus a "f****** paranoid schizophrenic" as "a joke."
"Most of what I said was humorous and joking," the ousted White House communications chief told the Huffington Post of his comments about the former chief of staff.
"Legally, it may have been on the record, but the spirit of it was off. And he knew that," he added.
Mr Scaramucci's comments came soon after a stunning email prank exposed embarrassing emails that appear to show he compared Mr Priebus to Shakespeare's Othello.
The extraordinary online exchange, orchestrated by an imposter posing as Mr Priebus, was a parting humiliation for Mr Scaramucci, nicknamed "The Mooch".
Apparently believing he was writing to Mr Priebus, he wrote: "You know what you did."
Mr Scaramucci's vulgar rant to the New Yorker last week included a series of critical comments not only about Mr Priebus but also other members of Donald Trump's top team, such as: "I’m not (White House strategist) Steve Bannon. I’m not trying to suck my own c***."
He also said: "I’m not trying to build my own brand off the f****** strength of the president. I’m here to serve the country," and vowed he would "kill all the leakers in the White House."
The former Wall Street financier was a controversial figure already before his appointment less than two weeks ago.
Mr Scaramucci was about a week into his new job when he made headlines around the world with his "straight talking".
He had been brought in as part of a White House shake-up which prompted the resignation of press secretary Sean Spicer.
It was reported that people familiar with staff changes said Mr Spicer thought Mr Scaramucci lacked the qualifications for the top communications job and quit in protest.
Mr Scaramucci, a native of Long Island, New York, had no government experience and no experience crafting communication strategy around policy.
The 53-year-old came to the job from Wall Street after making a name for himself as a hedge fund manager who appeared on television.
