Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Scott Bessent Blasts New York Times At Their Own Event Over Coverage On Trump’s Health

[Screenshot/The New York Times DealBook Summit]

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blasted The New York Times at the outlet’s own summit on Wednesday over their reporting on President Donald Trump’s health versus former President Joe Biden’s.

The Times’ story, “Signs of Fatigue: Trump Faces Realities Of Aging in Office, alleged that the public has seen less of Trump and that he showed signs of mental decline. In reference to that report, Bessent stated during the “DealBook Summit” that the Times is quick to question Trump’s ability to serve in the Oval Office but was nowhere to be found when Biden’s mental acuity came into question.

“You had what was one of the greatest scandals of all time, that the coverage of the Biden administration, Joe Biden’s diminished capacity, and the cover up. And that’s why it’s probably fair to raise these questions. Where was the New York Times? We just had a three-hour cabinet meeting yesterday, Andrew,” Bessent told the Times’ financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin. 

“For ten months, the Biden administration did not have a cabinet meeting,” Bessent continued. “How are you going to invoke the 25th Amendment if the cabinet secretaries never see the president, which they didn’t? I hear from people in the Treasury Building that I see President Trump more in a day than my predecessor saw Joe Biden in half a year.”

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In March 2021, The Times attempted to cover for Biden over concerns about his mental health with the headline, “Biden ‘Doing 100 Percent Fine’ After Tripping While Boarding Air Force One.” Footage showed Biden falling forward on the steps as he boarded the plane, and then appeared to fall off balance again before landing on his left knee.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called out the Times during a Monday briefing, stating that Trump has been “the most accessible president in history.”

“Oh, same outlet, same reporter who wrote that President Trump is not fit for the job. Are you kidding me? You all see him almost every single day. He is the most accessible president in history,” Leavitt said. 

The White House released the results of Trump’s magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in October, which found that the 79-year-old’s cardiovascular and abdominal systems are in good health.

The media consistently brushed off concerns about Biden’s mental capacity as a right-wing conspiracy until his debate against Trump on June 27, 2024, where he visibly appeared confused and spoke with a raspy voice.