Trump Delighted In Watching Top Cabinet Goons Tear Into Each Other
Donald Trump apparently has a penchant for pitting his protégés against each other.
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The president, 80, reportedly “enjoyed the sport” of watching Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick fight in front of him, according to New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s bombshell new book.
According to Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, released Tuesday, Lutnick told Trump that Bessent had “screwed up” a minerals deal with war-torn Ukraine.
Bessent, known for his hot temper, fired back at Lutnick, 64.
“This is a s—-y deal. You’re an idiot,” he said.
The 63-year-old then told the president, “Howard’s f—ed up the deal,” prompting Trump to reportedly join in on the ridicule.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
It’s not the only time Trump has appeared to enjoy piling on Lutnick, with whom he has maintained a close friendship for more than three decades after the pair met on New York’s social circuit. That friendship, however, has apparently been strained since Trump returned to office and appointed Lutnick to his Cabinet—and not just because of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
“You used to be a killer, Howard,” Haberman and Swan report Trump saying during a discussion with Lutnick about the impact tariffs could have on the U.S. auto industry.
“I remember when you were thirty-five, you were a killer. And now you’ve got your beautiful wife, and your big house, and you’re just soft. And you’re a p—y. You know what you are? You’re a p—y.”
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The president also reportedly said that Washington had made Lutnick “weak” and that he “used to be tough.”
At the same time, Bessent has developed a reputation as one of the toughest members of Trump’s Cabinet.
The Wall Street veteran was appearing at a hearing on Capitol Hill when GOP Sen. Thom Tillis asked him about reports that he had threatened to punch Bill Pulte, Trump’s housing finance chief, in the face.
“Did you actually tell Pulte you were going to punch him in the face?” Tillis asked Bessent.
“No sir, I actually said I was going to kick his a**,” Bessent responded with a smile.
“Good, I share the emotion,” the soon-to-be-retired Republican senator replied.
The inquiry stemmed from a Politico report about a heated exchange between the two Trump officials at a private dinner last September. According to the report, Bessent confronted Pulte for speaking to the president about him and threatened: “I’m gonna punch you in your f—ing face.”
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