Trump is 'slapping his supporters in the face' with attacks on military service: ex-aide

Former President Donald Trump is not just speaking off the cuff when he attacks former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's husband over military service, former Trump administration official Anthony Scaramucci told CNN on Monday — he's explicitly laying down a loyalty test for his supporters.

Specifically, he argued, Trump wants to be sure that Republicans trust him over their most cherished institutions.

"The personal attacks on Nikki Haley's husband... we heard Haley clap back and people have been pretty furious about it, except for Republicans who support the former president," said anchor Phil Mattingly, asking Scaramucci if he had any thoughts on "the motivation behind Trump doing that."

"It's narcissism," said Scaramucci simply. "He believes that the people that support him are actually pro-military, he believes that they're pro-patriotic. And he's slapping his supporters in the face. He wants to see how hard he can push his supporters to support him."

READ MORE: 11 ways Trump doesn’t become president

This goes back to Trump's boast that he could "shoot someone on Fifth Avenue" and still get votes, Scaramucci continued.

"He loves the fact that he's got this great support in South Carolina, which there's a military culture in South Carolina, pro-patriotism culture in South Carolina," he said. "And then he could malign our veterans. You could ask General Kelly about that or any of the other people that have heard them talk this nonsense about, he doesn't want to go to the cemetery because it will upset the hairspray on his hair or he doesn't understand why somebody would want to give up their life and service for the country."

Ultimately, Scaramucci said, "He likes doing that because he he can push the goalposts."

Watch the video below or at the link here.

Scaramucci says Trump is "slapping his supporters in the face"www.youtube.com