According to “Regime Change,” set for publication on Tuesday, Bessent told associates he had dealt with Zelenskyy before and described him as “tricky” and “like the special-needs child for the Europeans,” The Guardian reported Saturday, citing an advance copy of the book.
The treasury secretary also likened Zelenskyy to “Mr Bean on crack,” the book says. Bessent’s alleged comments came as he pressed Zelenskyy to sign a minerals deal during a visit to Kyiv in February 2025. The meeting turned into a 45-minute shouting match, with Bessent at one point asking the Ukrainian leader: “What the fuck do you want to do?”
Bessent recommended to Trump that he not allow Zelenskyy into the White House before signing the deal, according to the book. Then-national security adviser Mike Waltz tried unsuccessfully to convey that Zelenskyy should wear a suit for the visit.
The Oval Office meeting on Feb. 28, 2025, went ahead despite the objections. During the encounter, Vance criticized Zelenskyy for not showing gratitude for US aid, with others present seeing Vance’s face redden as the conversation deteriorated. Afterward, Bessent told Bloomberg that Zelenskyy had committed “one of the great diplomatic own goals” by disrespecting the American people.
The book also describes internal administration tensions over the minerals deal. Bessent battled Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over wording, and eventually Trump asked Usha Vance, the vice president’s wife and a Yale Law School graduate, to review Ukrainian edits to the deal. She declared the document “awful” and heavily edited it.
Perhaps most striking, the book reports that Bessent compared Trump to Democratic donor George Soros, telling associates they were “the same animal.”
The Guardian noted that the Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the book’s claims.