Scott Bessent blasts NY Times over coverage of – Business News
Scott Bessent tore into the New York Times on the paper’s own media convention on Wednesday — accusing it of pushing distorted coverage of President Trump’s health whereas downplaying its own failures to scrutinize former President Joe Biden’s decline.
In a tense onstage exchange on the paper’s Dealbook Summit in New York City, Bessent warned Times reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin that the paper was drifting towards irrelevance and had turn out to be a “fever swamp,” insisting he no longer reads the Times himself.
Scott Bessent tore into the New York Times at its own Dealbook Summit on Wednesday. Getty Images
“You know, in 20, 30, 40, 50 years, the New York Times is no longer the paper of record,” Bessent predicted in feedback reported by Mediaite.
The Treasury secretary cited a Times report final week that claimed that Trump, 79 was beginning to show his age: shorter public days, later begins, and moments during which he appeared fatigued during conferences.
“I read this article, like ‘President Trump is slowing down. President Trump’s mental capacity –’ It is a hundred percent fake. Like he only called me twice at 2 in the morning last week instead of three times.”
The Treasury chief advised moderator Andrew Ross Sorkin that Times articles forwarded to him proved the outlet had turn out to be, in his phrases, a “fever swamp,” insisting he no longer reads the paper himself. Getty Images for The New York Times
According to the Times story, Trump holds far fewer public occasions than he did during the primary yr of his first time period and travels domestically at a slower tempo, at the same time as he will increase overseas journeys.
The article additionally cited cases during which the president’s eyes drooped during noon conferences, and recounted questions surrounding current medical procedures he disclosed with out element.
In response, Bessent highlighted a prolonged cCabinet assembly as proof the president was totally engaged as he faulted the paper for ignoring the tempo of official work.
In a tense onstage exchange, Bessent warned that the Times was drifting towards irrelevance. Christopher Sadowski
Bessent went on to accuse the Times of contributing to what he known as “one of the greatest scandals of all time” by way of its “coverage of the Biden administration, Joe Biden’s diminished capacity, and the cover-up.”
Sorkin pushed back, arguing that issues about Biden’s coverage meant it was “probably fair to raise these questions” about Trump’s situation as nicely.
A current Times report stated President Trump, now 79, was exhibiting the realities of age: shorter public days, later begins, and moments during which he appeared fatigued during conferences. Al Drago/UPI/Shutterstock
Bessent rejected that argument, saying the paper had ignored Trump’s tempo of work to fabricate narratives.
“Where was the New York Times? We just had a three-hour cabinet meeting yesterday, Andrew!” he stated, earlier than asserting that Biden hardly ever convened his own cupboard and asking how “you’re going to invoke the 25th Amendment if the cabinet secretaries never see the president?”
Bessent escalated his criticism by accusing the Times of contributing to what he described as “one of the greatest scandals of all time” by way of its “coverage of the Biden administration, Joe Biden’s diminished capacity, and the cover-up.” REUTERS
The Times’ most up-to-date quarterly earnings show the writer now counts more than 12 million subscribers, virtually all of them digital.
The company added almost half a million digital-only subscribers within the newest quarter, lifted income almost 10% and posted double-digit revenue growth.
Its stock trades close to a 52-week high, and analysts peg its valuation north of $10 billion.
The Post has sought remark from the Times.
