Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci campaigned for Michael Grimm on Staten Island on Saturday, throwing his support behind the former congressman as Grimm attempts to show his support for President Trump.

Much of Scaramucci's remarks at the event at the Hilton in Bloomfield — attended by about 125 people — was subdued, but he said he was proud to stand with Grimm.

"I'm a big believer in forgiveness. I'm a big believer in redemption. I think all of us, as a society, have to think that way," Scaramucci said after the rally, when asked if Grimm's prison stint for tax fraud should disqualify Grimm for office.

Grimm, who had represented New York's 11th congressional district — the only New York City borough that Donald Trump won in the 2016 president election — before he was convicted, gave a sprawling speech at the rally, slamming Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo's policies and records, and calling on Staten Islanders to stand up against them.

 

"Do we want injection sites right here in our district?" Grimm said to the crowd. "Do we want more homeless living in the terminals, in the train stations? Do we want vagrants across our streets? Very simple: Do we want to be a 'sanctuary city?' Well, neither do I. And you know what? Neither does our great president, Donald Trump."

Grimm also slammed his primary opponent, the current congressman Dan Donovan. He claims he is ahead in the race, and said his opponent is a fair-weather conservative

"He's suddenly an immigration hawk. I mean, he's looking to deport everybody," Grimm said. "I'm not kidding: I won't even Spanish around him; I'm afraid he may want to deport me."

Jessica Proud, a spokeswoman for Donovan, took a shot at the event on Twitter:

 

"My opponent, who did nothing for the president throughout the president's election, is now looking to cloak himself around the president for his own election," Donovan had said in late-April about the planned event. "It's just another example of my opponent using people for his own benefit."

Both Grimm and Donovan have attempted to demonstrate to voters in the district — which is comprised of Staten Island and a portion of southern Brooklyn — that they are close supporters of the president.

Just Friday, in fact, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who works for Trump's legal team, endorsed the current congressman. The former mayor said Donovan has done enough to show he supports Trump, a favorable position in the district.

Speaking to NY1 in late-April, Grimm said Scaramucci offered to support him when they had met previously.

"We met, we spoke, and he offered to help out and he said, 'If you want me to come out to Staten Island and support you at an event, I would do so. And he said, 'I would write you a check as well,' so it's a double win," said Grimm, who is running to represent Staten Island and part of Brooklyn again in the House of Representatives.

Scaramucci has been perhaps the shortest-lived staffer at the Trump White House; his tenure lasted only 11 days.

But he has been propelled to celebrity status. His name comes with some cachet and is synonymous with the Trump brand.

"I think we get along. I think he knows that, just like what President Trump is going through, I went through a lot worse. I was railroaded by a corrupt Obama Justice Department," Grimm said, referring to his prison time for tax fraud.

Now, it's full-steam ahead in what some thought was an implausible comeback.

The president has not taken a position in the race, but Scaramucci is not the first former Trump aide to align with Grimm.

Last October, Grimm tweeted a visit with former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. We are told that Grimm and Bannon have not been in touch since January.

It is support for the president that Grimm cites as a reason he wants to link up with Scaramucci.

"I just respect the fact that he has been so strong for the president," Grimm said. "He is obviously a self-made man. He gets it. He understands where this country was and where it's going."

In an interview last year, Scaramucci said he didn't know Grimm very well. But he said at the time that there are big comebacks in the United States.

Extended coverage of the Grimm-Donovan race: