"I've made five phonebooks of mistakes in my life and maybe three of them in the White House," Scaramucci told a press conference in New York. "I probably shouldn't have gone to Washington with a chainsaw and a hockey mask."

The former Wall Street banker also known as "The Mooch" only lasted ten days as communications director after he replaced Sean Spicer.

In defence of his short stay in the White House, Scaramucci said he moved "like a business executive" against leaks and improved access for journalists: "I did turn the lights and the cameras back on in the press room."

He was pushed out in July after a profanity-laced tirade in a phone call with a New Yorker reporter in which Scaramucci reportedly accused then-White House chief of staff Reince Priebus of being a "paranoid schizophrenic".

He also derided then-chief strategist Stephen Bannon. Scaramucci said Monday he should not have used the language he used at the time.

He added that although his dismissal was politically motivated, the blame lay entirely with himself.

He said he did not hold a grudge against the Trumps and said he had spoken with the president directly 15 times since his sacking.

Scaramucci was replaced by Hope Hicks, who resigned in February after admitting to a House committee investigating Russian interference into the 2016 election that she had told "white lies" in her job.

The role of White House communications director currently remains unfilled.

Australian Associated Press