It’s been a rough start for my friend Anthony Scaramucci as President Trump’s surprise — and surprising — choice as the new White House communications director. That’s too bad, because I would like nothing better than for him to succeed wildly in his new job. Lord knows Mr. Trump can use the help.

Anthony is the living embodiment of the American dream. From Ghost Motorcycles, his family’s scary-seeming motorcycle shop on Long Island, he made his way to Harvard Law School, Goldman Sachs (for two tours of duty), and then to the pinnacle of finance, where he was the founder of SkyBridge Capital. Over the years, Anthony became the impresario of the fund’s annual SALT Las Vegas conference, which brings together the leaders of finance, politics, film, sports and the military in a well-organized forum where the free exchange of ideas is celebrated. He bought and then revived the much beloved “Wall Street Week” TV show. He is a natural salesman. His affectionate nickname on Wall Street is “The Mooch.”

Anthony has the skills to make a big difference in this White House. He is smart, generous and funny, open-minded and ambitious — but not in an obnoxious way. He cares about being able to disagree without being disagreeable. I have always been impressed by the way he could proclaim his support for Mitt Romney, Scott Walker, Jeb Bush or David Koch while at the same time admiring Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

We have shared many beers at Bill’s, on East 54th Street, debating our opposing political viewpoints and sharing our life experiences. We first really got to know each other at SALT, where he invited me on four occasions and paid for me to interview, on stage, the likes of Oliver Stone and Michael Lewis. One year, SkyBridge bought copies of my controversial book, “The Price of Silence,” about the Duke lacrosse scandal, to give away to conference attendees, even though the SALT regular David Rubenstein, the powerful founder of the Carlyle Group and the chairman of the Duke board of trustees, objected vehemently.