US Treasury Secretary Accuses New York Times of Publishing “Fake” Stories on Trump

By Staff, Agencies

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sharply criticized The New York Times during a live event hosted by the newspaper on Wednesday, declaring that the outlet is no longer a credible source of journalism and accusing it of misleading coverage of President Donald Trump’s mental health.

Bessent described the NYT as a “fever swamp,” claiming it played a role in “one of the greatest scandals of all time” by minimizing former President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline during his term, while now publishing what he labeled as “100% fake” stories about Trump.

He dismissed a recent NYT report alleging that Trump, 79, has shown increased fatigue, shorter workdays, and signs of drowsiness during meetings.

Bessent mocked the claims, saying Trump had only called him “twice at 2 in the morning instead of three times” last week.

He added that he no longer reads the paper and predicted that in “20, 30, 40, 50 years,” it will no longer be considered America’s ‘paper of record.’

Trump has also blasted the NYT article, calling it a political attack and insisting he recently completed a “perfect physical exam and a comprehensive cognitive test” which he “aced.”

In recent months, Trump has escalated his confrontations with major media outlets, launching a White House ‘media bias’ tracker and engaging in legal battles with the NYT, CBS, and others.

He also threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion over an edited Panorama segment on his January 6, 2021 speech, which the Telegraph later revealed contained spliced remarks taken nearly an hour apart and paired with unrelated protest footage — a scandal that ultimately led to the resignations of the BBC’s director-general and head of news.