White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is on leave because she just had a baby. So in her absence, they have occasionally been subbing in some of the Trump administration officials to handle the briefing with the press corps.
We've seen both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance have a go at it, and they did a good job dealing with the chaos and responding to the questions.
Thursday was Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's turn. As we reported, among the subjects he addressed was Iran and how they were not going to be allowed to put in any kind of a charging system on the Strait of Hormuz. He had posted earlier on X how their economy was now in free fall, that the regime was being hit hard, echoing what Pres. Trump said on Wednesday.
Bessent also showed how deft he is in handling the media. We've seen it from him before, and he was in good form when they were going at him on Thursday.
We reported how Bessent took down both The Washington Post and CNN's Kaitlan Collins on one question when he was asked about a law being considered regarding the printing of a new bill.
READ MORE: Bessent: Iran's Economy Is Collapsing - and More Pain Is Coming
Legacy Media Loses It Over Trump Pic on Currency for America 250, Bessent Calmly Clarifies It
Secretary Bessent then dealt handily the nosiness of the White House media. A reporter asked about notes he had in front of him during Wednesday's Cabinet meeting, "You wrote 'resilience' on your Cabinet note meetings [sic]," the reporter asked. "Are you trying to keep the president calm, or are you trying to keep yourself calm? Why did you write all those notes?"
Reporter: "You wrote 'resilience' on your Cabinet meeting notes... why did you write all those notes?"@SecScottBessent: "So people could look over my shoulder, photograph them, and think they got a scoop." đ€Ł pic.twitter.com/HpFzoFejYV
â Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 28, 2026
"So people could look over my shoulder, photograph them, and think they got a scoop," he shot back, as everyone laughed. He's so funny, and what a silly question.
Bessent also took down California Gov. Gavin Newsom handily, when he was asked about Newsom floating an idea for a 100 percent state tax on anyone who receives any money paid out from the Anti-Weaponization fund.
.@SecScottBessent nukes Gavin Newscum (again): "There's no cure for stupid." đ„ pic.twitter.com/og4RdCKgfB
â Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 28, 2026
"There's no cure for stupid," Bessent said without missing a beat.
Now that's some legendary nuking of Newsom by Bessent. Right on target. We saw how the California governor's communications team embarrassed themselves by telling people not to buy from Chevron. after the company pointed out how CA taxes are one of the reasons why Californians were paying more for gas.
READ MORE: The Streisand Effect Hits Newsom Hard After His Office Makes Huge Blunder Attacking Chevron
The resulting controversy only highlighted the point Chevron was making, proving Bessent's point.
đ„đđŒđ€Ł https://t.co/iuJnoV5yap
â Dean Cain (@RealDeanCain) May 28, 2026
Game. Set. Match! https://t.co/AzeRaaHWeG
â Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) May 28, 2026
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