Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent halted a TV interview when he was summoned to the Situation Room by President Donald Trump.
Bessent, 63, made the journalist wait at the White House for almost two hours on Thursday while he dealt with Trump, 79.
British Sky News correspondent Wilfred Frost stopped his interview at 10:22 a.m when an aide came and told Bessent “the president wants you right away.” He removed his microphone and left, telling Frost that he may be able to “work that in” referring to the disruption.
The interview resumed at 12:07 p.m with Frost noting, “Mr. Secretary, it’s a first, I’m sure a last as well, that an interviewee has been pulled away to go to the Situation Room.”
The journalist asked “How was the president? Was he stressed?”
Bessent insisted, “The president is in great spirits, the Iranian mission is proceeding well ahead of schedule.”
In order to highlight his praise for the U.S. military effort, Bessent then noted, “I have a teenage, well, a teenager who’s considering military service.” Praising Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth by name, Bessent said, “I would trust my child’s life in their hands.”
Bessent and husband John Freeman have two children, Cole and Caroline, born through surrogacy.
The Treasury Secretary was evasive about the situation in Iran as the interview continued after the interruption.
The strikes on Iran by the U.S. and Israeli military forces have paralyzed the shipping of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, leading to increased gas and energy prices globally.
Oil prices hit $3.65 a gallon in the U.S. on Thursday, according to Gasbuddy, after being as low as $2.82 last month.
When asked on Thursday if U.S. Navy ships were preparing to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, the main route used to transport oil bound for international markets, Bessent said he believed that “Iranian tankers, some Chinese flag tankers” had now come through the passage.
“Was that what you were discussing in the Situation Room,” Frost asked Bessent. He replied, “We were discussing a plethora of things” with a smug smile.
The Republican said he believed that “as soon as it is militarily possible,” the U.S. Navy would escort vessels through the Strait with a possible international coalition.
When Frost enquired if that was something they had just discussed in the Situation Room meeting, Bessent said, “Your words, not mine.”
Stumbling over his own words, Bessent added, “But again, but, we’ve, we’ve been planning for this. We’ve done scenario analysis for months, for weeks, leading into this.”
He added the usual Trump administration, “We have complete control of the skies... they have no air force, the navy is sunk, literally and figuratively... So as soon as it is possible... to ensure safe passage, we will do it.”
Bessent told Sky News that the U.S. has already spent $11 billion since Trump’s war began. Frost asked the MAGA money man if there was a number that would force him to say, “Mr. President, we can no longer afford this”. Bessent said, “Absolutely not.”
