A flustered and flummoxed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stuttered and stammered his way through a question about why he’s pushing so hard to have President Donald Trump’s mug put on a $250 commemorative bill.
Bessent showed up at the White House daily press briefing on May 28, after the Washington Post published a story about Trump appointee U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach urging the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to speed up the process for a new Trump Federal Reserve note.
The Post also reported former BEP head Patricia Solimene was removed as chief of the agency and reassigned after resisting the move.
According to The Associated Press, Treasury would not reveal Solimene’s current status but did confirm top Beach staffer Michael Brown is now the acting director of engraving and printing.
CNN Chief White House correspondent and anchor Kaitlan Collins tried to hold Bessent’s feet to the fire over the Treasury’s ongoing efforts to get the bills printed.
Collins asked if he thinks it’s a good idea politically to push for Trump’s face on new currency, and especially a bill that so many Americans would not be able to afford amid an increasing struggle to pay for gas and groceries.
Bessent’s Defense Immediately Goes Off the Rails
Bessent’s first mangled response was to slam the Post for writing the story in the first place.
“I don’t really understand this Post article,” a smiling Bessent said, holding up a copy of the story.
“Terribly written. Terribly edited because basically what it says is that Treasury is following the law, and that we created the bill, and that it’s basically up to Congress, but that we follow the bill, and I didn’t really understand what the story was,” he insisted, barely making sense.
Collins then interjected, asking whether two of his political appointees are involved with the effort.
“Yes, of course, but we prepare for everything,” Bessent stammered, “if it gets passed just like we were ready six months in advance after the One Big Beautiful Bill for tax cuts. So we have to prepare in advance.
“Politically though do you think it’s a good idea when people are struggling to afford gas and groceries?” Collins persisted.
Bessent, amid his stammering and stuttering, suddenly made a ridiculous comparison.
“I, I think, I think it has, it’s bifurcated that, you think we should have a 250th anniversary celebration?” he suddenly asked Collins, who didn’t back down.
“Well, that’s happening anyway,” she quickly shot back, trying to point out that the effort to create a new bill with Trump’s face and signature on it was happening by choice.
Bessent immediately denied it, “No, no, no it’s happening because it’s being funded by private citizens, by the federal government, by state governments, by municipal governments to celebrate our country and I don’t think there’s, uh anything untoward about having the president’s of the United States, the person who is president of the United States on the 250th anniversary bill.”
Critics Unleash Fury After Bessent’s Performance
Social media descended into a frenzy, accusing Trump and Bessent of “un-American” behavior and Bessent of being “a clown.”
“This is Trump mimicking Roman emperor behavior. Putting likeness on coinage and buildings. Building arches to himself. Staging fights in an arena like gladiators in a Colosseum. Demanding unwavering loyalty while giving none to his supporters. Completely and starkly unAmerican,” Threads user madocman56 declared.
“Oh my god that guy is a total f-cking idiot. What a clown,” this Threads user proclaimed.
Another agreed, pointing out that there is nothing that seems to embarrass Trump’s cronies, “He is a total jackass. You would think he’d be embarrassed.”
Congress strictly outlawed placing a living person on U.S. currency in 1866 after several Treasury officials put their own faces on currency notes during the Civil War. But in 1926, the Treasury minted a special half-dollar with President Calvin Coolidge’s face on it in honor of the nation’s 150th anniversary, according to USA Today.
But last year, South Carolina Republican congressman Joe Wilson, along with 15 other GOP co-sponsors, introduced a bill to try and force the Treasury Department to print currency featuring Trump’s face, ABC News reported, but so far it’s languishing in a House committee.
