Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly told President Donald Trump not to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, and used insulting language to describe him before the visit took place. These claims come from the book Regime Change, written by reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, which is set to be published worldwide on Tuesday, June 23, 2026.
According to the book, Bessent used several offensive terms to describe the Ukrainian leader. The book quotes Bessent as telling people close to him, “I’ve dealt with this little f—er,” and describing Zelenskyy further by saying, “He’s tricky. He’s like the special-needs child for the Europeans. And he’s acting like Mr Bean on crack.”
According to The Guardian, the authors say tension over Ukraine aid was high inside the Trump administration at the time. The authors also write that several Trump aides feared the visit could turn into a conflict, since the meeting was meant to finalize a minerals deal that Bessent had been negotiating.
The Oval Office meeting turned tense as Vance pushed back on Zelenskyy’s requests
The meeting took place on February 28, 2025, and it did not go well. Trump and Vice President JD Vance criticized Zelenskyy over his clothing and over what they saw as a lack of gratitude for American aid to Ukraine. The book describes Vance becoming visibly angry, his face turning red, as he listened to Zelenskyy ask for security guarantees. According to the book, Vance saw these requests as disrespectful and ungrateful toward the administration.
Before the meeting, Bessent had been trying to move the minerals deal forward, though the process was not easy. The authors describe a tense trip to Kyiv during which Bessent and Zelenskyy reportedly argued with each other for 45 minutes.
During that argument, Bessent allegedly asked, “What the f— do you want to do?” The book says the negotiations stayed difficult, with Bessent reportedly clashing with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over the exact wording of the agreement. According to the authors, Trump eventually asked Usha Vance, the vice president’s wife, to review the edits to the document. She reportedly called the draft “awful” and made major changes to it.
After the February 28 meeting, Bessent spoke publicly about it in an interview with Bloomberg, criticizing the Ukrainian president. He called the visit “one of the great diplomatic own goals” and said, “I was shocked, shocked that President Zelenskyy would come into the Oval Office, behave like this, speak to the president, speak to the vice-president, but more importantly, disrespect the American people like this.”
The book also includes claims about how Bessent privately viewed Trump himself. According to the authors, Bessent told people close to him that Trump reminded him of George Soros, the investor and Democratic donor. Bessent reportedly said, “They are the same animal.”
The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the claims in the book. As Treasury Secretary, Bessent has more recently been involved in efforts to rebuild Gulf allies’ damage tied to Iranian assets.
He has also confirmed a policy requiring banks to verify citizenship is in the works. The revelations come as the issue of aid to Ukraine remains a major topic of discussion among world leaders, including most recently at the G7 summit in France. As of writing, Bessent has not officially responded to the claims in the book.
Published: Jun 21, 2026 08:45 am