2018 just got interesting. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The list of departed Trump administration figures is filled with fascinating characters, from private plane enthusiast Tom Price to Orbit gum addict Sean Spicer. But there was one official who managed to leave us wanting more. Anthony Scaramucci burst into the White House briefing room last July with a delightful nickname, a complicated history with the president, and an already-simmering feud with White House chief of staff Reince Priebus. Eleven days later, he left in a blaze of profanity-laced glory.

For a few hours on Monday night, the Daily Beast gave us hope that our favorite former Trump communications director (sorry, Dubke) might be back for an encore performance. They reported:

The former White House communications director has privately told friends and associates that the president and other members of the Trump family, including White House adviser and first daughter Ivanka Trump, miss him and want him back in the West Wing. Three sources close to Scaramucci have independently told The Daily Beast that the Mooch continues to brag that he and President Donald Trump talk on the phone, and that the Mooch believes his resurrection in Trump-world could be imminent. One of these sources said that the Mooch claimed he was flying out to either Washington, D.C. or Mar-a-Lago early this month to meet Trump to talk about it.

Unfortunately, they were unable to find anyone who considered this a plausible scenario. “It would amaze and shock me if the president still talks to [Scaramucci] or is considering rehiring him after what happened,” a senior White House official said. “And that is coming from someone who works in a place where nothing surprises me anymore.”

A short time later, the Mooch himself poured cold water on the report.

Don’t believe fake news. No standards left in journalism anymore. All anonymous sources. @thedailybeast this week’s fake news award. https://t.co/Y4rr1mw9t2 — Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) January 2, 2018

But it’s easy to see why someone might think it’s possible that Scaramucci is returning to Trump’s White House – or at least, that Scaramucci is claiming he’s returning to Trump’s White House.

When asked about his future plans days after his firing, Scaramucci told the Huffington Post, “I am now going to go dark,” adding, “then I will reemerge … as me.”

Weeks later he reemerged with a mysterious media company called the Scaramucci Post, notable mainly for its Holocaust denial scandal. Then in November he stoked rumors of his return, telling the Associated Press that he sees himself working with Trump in the future.

“I have very good relationships there still, and you have to remember we were a team for 18 months, and so we all had different roles. And so I’m still playing my role frankly. I’m an advocate for the president, media surrogate when I need to be,” Scaramucci said.

He’s continued aiding the administration in that capacity, appearing on CNN’s State of the Union last weekend to put a less scientifically unsound spin on Trump’s recent call for more global warming.

Scaramucci did warn us back in November that it’s unlikely that he’ll score another White House gig. “At some point I’ll probably be more involved from the outside, but more in a reelection capability than from inside the administration,” he said.

But this is a White House where where unqualified relatives can serve as top advisers and former Apprentice stars can cause a scene outside the president’s private residence (allegedly). Can you really blame people for holding on to the dream of another 11 days with the Mooch in charge?