US treasury chief called Zelenskyy 'Mr Bean on crack', advised against hosting, book says
A new book alleges that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent used highly derogatory language to describe Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and urged President Trump not to host him at the White House ahead of a disastrous Oval Office meeting in February 2025.
Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, advised Donald Trump against hosting Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, having reportedly called the Ukrainian president a “little fucker”, a “special-needs child” and “Mr Bean on crack”, according to the upcoming book 'Regime Change' by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
The book, to be published Tuesday, details the disastrous February 28, 2025 meeting, where Trump and Vice President JD Vance blasted Zelenskyy for ingratitude and for not wearing a suit. Bessent was present as Vance confronted the Ukrainian leader.
Before the meeting, Bessent strongly recommended that Zelenskyy not be allowed into the White House until he signed a minerals deal drafted by Bessent. “I’ve dealt with this little fucker,” Bessent told associates. “He’s tricky. He’s like the special-needs child for the Europeans. And he’s acting like Mr Bean on crack.”
After the meeting, Bessent told Bloomberg that Zelenskyy scored “one of the great diplomatic own goals”, adding he was shocked at the behavior.
The book also recounts Bessent’s unsuccessful visit to Kyiv to press for the minerals deal. The two men had a shouting match, with Bessent finally asking, “What the fuck do you want to do?”
Negotiations stalled as Bessent battled Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over wording. Trump asked his daughter-in-law Usha Vance to review the Ukrainian edits; she called the document “awful” and made heavy edits.
Most embarrassingly for Bessent, he reportedly compared Trump to George Soros, saying they are “the same animal.”
