US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has used extremely harsh and disparaging language towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, writes The Guardian.
The information about this has come to light in the new book “Regime Change“ by famous New York Times investigative journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
According to leaked excerpts from the book, in unofficial conversations Bessent called Zelensky “Mr. Bean on crack“. This happened during his attempts to convince President Donald Trump not to receive the Ukrainian leader in the Oval Office cabinet.
The book's authors reveal that this is not the only insult. The Treasury Secretary has also called Zelensky a “special needs child“ and “little idiot“.
Behind the scenes, the relationship between the two politicians has escalated into open conflict. During negotiations in Kiev for an agreement on Ukraine's critical minerals, Besent and Zelensky had a furious 45-minute conversation at a high pitch, in which they literally shouted at each other.
The revelations shed light on the enormous tension between the Trump administration and Kiev in the first half of 2025.
According to political analysts, such language from a key American minister shows the deep division and difficulties in diplomatic relations between the two countries in the current geopolitical context.
So far, neither Scott Besent, nor officials from the White House or Kiev have officially commented on the allegations in the book.