Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, warned Donald Trump to keep Volodymyr Zelenskyy out of the Oval Office, privately calling the Ukrainian president a "little fucker," a "special-needs child," and "Mr Bean on crack," according to a forthcoming book by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
The allegations surface in "Regime Change," a behind-the-scenes account of Trump's second administration due Tuesday. The crude language attributed to Bessent underscores the chaotic backdrop to what became one of the administration's most embarrassing diplomatic encounters.
Despite Bessent's recommendation, Zelenskyy did visit on February 28, 2025. The meeting quickly spiraled. Vice President JD Vance grew visibly angry as Zelenskyy pressed for security guarantees, which Vance interpreted as ingratitude for American aid. Trump and Vance both criticized Zelenskyy for not wearing a suit and for what they saw as disrespect to the United States.
Bessent was present in the room as tensions escalated. According to the book, observers watched "Vance steadily turning red" as the conversation deteriorated.
The tensions traced back further. When Bessent traveled to Kyiv before the White House meeting, he and Zelenskyy engaged in what the authors describe as a 45-minute mutual berating session. Only days into his Treasury role, Bessent found himself in a shouting match with a wartime leader. At one point, he asked Zelenskyy bluntly: "What the fuck do you want to do?"
The underlying purpose of both encounters involved a minerals deal that Bessent helped draft. Negotiations stalled repeatedly. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz had unsuccessfully tried to advise Zelenskyy to wear formal attire to the White House. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick clashed with Bessent over the deal's terms.
Trump eventually asked his sister-in-law, Usha Vance, a Yale Law School graduate, to review Ukrainian edits to the agreement. She declared the document "awful" and made extensive revisions.
After the disastrous Oval Office encounter, Bessent told Bloomberg that Zelenskyy had scored "one of the great diplomatic own goals." He expressed shock at what he characterized as disrespect toward the American people, despite the Ukrainian president's situation as a wartime leader seeking continued U.S. support.
The Treasury Department did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations.
The Ukraine aid question remains central to Trump administration policy. The issue was discussed at a G7 summit in France the week after the contentious White House meeting.
Perhaps most striking from the book's account: Bessent reportedly compared Trump himself to George Soros, the progressive billionaire and Democratic donor, telling associates they are "the same animal."
Author James Rodriguez: "Bessent's profanity-laced commentary reads like a cabinet officer completely out of his depth, scrambling to manage a deal he didn't understand while his boss torched the relationship anyway."
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