Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Prepared To K.O. Administration Rivals

The most pusillanimous cabinet secretary in recent history

Grok AI

Scott Bessent, one of two men considered to be closest to President Donald Trump as architects of his trade and tariff policies, went on an expletive-filled tirade against an administration rival in the middle of a swank private dinner last week.

“The scene was described to me by one eyewitness and four other people familiar with what happened,” Rachel Bade reports at Politico. “The only fact they disagreed on was whether it was Bessent or [Bill] Pulte who initiated the conversation. They and others who described the conflict were granted anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.”

“Why the fu*k are you talking to the president about me? Fuck you,” Bessent reportedly told Pulte. “I’m gonna punch you in your fu*king face.”

Pulte appeared stunned, and the tense encounter prompted club co-owner and financier Omeed Malik to intervene, according to the three people. But Bessent wasn’t having it — he sought to get him kicked out, the eyewitness said.

“It’s either me or him,” Bessent said to Malik. “You tell me who’s getting the fuck out of here.”

“Or,” he added, “we could go outside.”

“To do what?” asked Pulte. “To talk?”

“No,” Bessent replied. “I’m going to fucking beat your ass.”

Though the two men are reportedly supposed to be working together on a housing finance policy package, their rivalry is said to stem from Mr. Pulte trying to promote his own people for job openings that Mr. Bessent considered his to fill.

Bessent recently denied reports that he also gave Elon Musk a black eye during a physical altercation at the White House. Musk claims the injury was inflicted during horseplay with his son.

Who could have predicted that Scott Bessent, the man who executed the biggest short play on any currency in history when he ‘broke’ the Bank of England in 1992, would turn out to be a bruiser?