Scott Bessent called Zelenskyy a "little fucker", a "special-needs child" and "Mr Bean on crack"

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/20/scott-bessent-volodymyr-zelenskyy-trump

US treasury chief urged Trump not to host ‘Mr Bean on crack’ Zelenskyy, book says
Suggestion that Scott Bessent so described a world leader included in Regime Change, by New York Times reporters
Martin Pengelly
Sat 20 Jun 2026 09.00 EDT

Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, advised Donald Trump not to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, having called the Ukrainian president a “little fucker”, a “special-needs child” and “Mr Bean on crack”, according to a new book.

The suggestion that a US cabinet official described a world leader in such terms is included in Regime Change, a blockbusting account of the second Trump administration by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, set to be published worldwide on Tuesday.

News of Bessent’s alleged remarks may embarrass the Trump administration, although the meeting that did take place on 28 February 2025 proved outright disastrous, as Trump and JD Vance blasted Zelenskyy for not being grateful for aid in his fight against Russian invaders, and for not wearing a suit.

The issue of aid to Ukraine remains at the fore, and was discussed at the G7 summit in France earlier this week.

“Several Trump aides had been worried” about the potential for a blow-up when Zelenskyy came to the White House, ostensibly to seal a minerals deal drafted by Bessent, Swan and Haberman write. Then-national security adviser Mike Waltz “tried – unsuccessfully – to get the message across that Zelenskyy should come wearing a suit”, they continue. “Bessent had strongly recommended to Trump that he not even allow Zelenskyy into the White House before he had signed” the deal.

“‘I’ve dealt with this little fucker,’ Bessent would say to associates about Zelenskyy,” according to the book. “‘He’s tricky. He’s like the special-needs child for the Europeans. And he’s acting like Mr Bean on crack.”

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