Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronts New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin on stage at the New York Times DealBook Summit
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent marched straight into hostile territory Wednesday, the New York Times’ own DealBook Summit and proceeded to demolish the nation’s most infamous propaganda outlet to its face.
Bessent, who has quickly emerged as one of the most forceful communicators in President Trump’s economic team, unloaded on the New York Times for what he called its “fever swamp” reporting, its phony narratives about President Trump’s leadership, and its years-long cover-up of Joe Biden’s rapid decline and incapacity.
During an exchange with DealBook host Andrew Ross Sorkin, Bessent unloaded on the Times’ increasingly hysterical anti-Trump narratives.
Sorkin attempted to set up a question about whether the country had entered a “new normal.” Bessent didn’t hesitate and didn’t hold back.
The Treasury Secretary then mocked the Times for attempting to portray Trump as mentally declining — a laughable projection given Joe Biden’s visible deterioration.
Bessent cited a recent NYT hit piece claiming Trump was “slowing down” and that aides were worried about his “capacity.”
Bessent turned directly to the New York Times’ deliberate suppression of Biden’s obvious decline — a scandal the mainstream press pretended did not exist right up until Democrats were forced to remove Biden from the race and hide him from cameras.
Andrew Ross Sorkin:
That’s the question. Is this a new normal?
Scott Bessent:
Andrew, there’s no new normal. I can tell you that I actually don’t read The New York Times anymore. Sometimes I do watch CNBC, but occasionally people send me articles, and there’s just this fever swamp. You’re now a pop historian with 1929. In 20, 30, 40, 50 years, The New York Times is no longer going to be the paper of record.
I read this article: “President Trump is slowing down President Trump’s mental capacity.” It is 100 percent fake. He only called me twice at 2:00 in the morning last week instead of three times.
That whole narrative — you had what was one of the greatest scandals of all time, which was the coverage of the Biden administration, Joe Biden’s diminished capacity, and the cover-up. That’s why it’s probably fair to raise these questions.
Where was The New York Times? We just had a three-hour Cabinet meeting yesterday, Andrew. For 10 months, the Biden administration did not have a Cabinet meeting. How are you going to invoke the 25th Amendment if the Cabinet secretaries never see the President — which they didn’t?
I hear from people in the Treasury Building that I see President Trump more in a day than my predecessor saw Joe Biden in half a year.
WATCH:
NEW: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demolishes The New York Times at their own summit.
Bessent ripped apart the “fever swamp” New York Times on stage at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit.
“I actually don’t read the New York Times anymore… occasionally people send me… pic.twitter.com/6ObZJyKcm2
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 3, 2025
While torching the Times, Bessent also made clear that he has fully aligned with Trump’s economic vision.
He explained that U.S. trading partners are finally opening their markets because Trump uses tariffs as leverage — and they work.
“I’ve had an open mind, and I’ve evolved on this, and the president has been right,” Bessent said.
He directly contradicted the far-left claim that tariffs drive inflation, noting that inflation is lower in red states — despite dishonest talking points from blue-state media.
The New York Times invited Scott Bessent expecting talking points. Instead, they received a live-on-stage reckoning. He called out their fake reporting.
The post BRUTAL: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent TORCHES New York Times at Their OWN Summit — Calls the Paper a “Fever Swamp” and Slams Their Cover-Up of Biden’s Decline appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.