Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed a “deep dark secret” in a cringeworthy appearance on MAGA’s new favorite network.
The 63-year-old Trump acolyte was talking to host Kelly O’Grady on CBS News on Wednesday when he made his purported confession.
“My deep dark secret is that I have a Dr. Pepper for breakfast,” Bessent told O’Grady.
“Not allowed to do it in the house with the children,” he said, before adding, “Don’t tell Bobby Kennedy.”
“I won’t,” O’Grady replied.
Multi-millionaire Bessent married John Freeman, a former New York City prosecutor, in 2011 and they share two children, Cole and Caroline.
Bessent’s morning routine of a soft drink would seriously trigger Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has embarked on a mission to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ by avoiding processed foods, seed oils, and unhealthy drinks.
He draws a line, however, at trying to get President Donald Trump aboard his healthy eating campaign. Earlier this month, RFK Jr. told The Katie Miller Podcast that when Trump travels “you get this idea that he’s just pumping himself full of poison all day long and you don’t know how he’s walking around.”
He added that Trump “eats really bad food, which is McDonald’s, and, you know, candy and Diet Coke. He drinks Diet Coke at all times. He has the constitution of a deity. I don’t know how he’s alive, but he is.”
A standard 12 oz can of regular Dr. Pepper has around 150 calories, and around 38 grams of sugar. O’Grady did not clarify if Bessent opted for full-strength Dr. Pepper or if he reached for a Diet Dr Pepper or Dr Pepper Zero Sugar in the morning.
One X user commented on CBS’s clip of the video, “Riveting! Holy smokes!! It’s shocking to hear that absolutely no one is tuning into watch your bullsh--t with these hard hitting, informative pieces! Bravo @bariweiss.”
On Wednesday, Bessent posed with the recent MAGA convert, the rapper Nicki Minaj, in Washington, D.C. The Trinidadian joined Trump to promote the administration’s so-called Trump Accounts, geared to help parents put away money for their newborn babies.
Minaj, sporting extra-long nails, held hands with Trump, 79, on stage and admitted, “I am probably the president’s number one fan, and that’s not going to change.”
The rapper, who has alienated a large amount of her fanbase by endorsing Trump and his anti-LGTBQ policies, said she would pledge up to $300,000 to fund her fans’ Trump Accounts.
The scheme, supported by Bessent, sees the government deposit $100 into the account of every child born between Jan. 1 this year and Dec. 31, 2028—the year of the next presidential election.
“She makes a lot of money and she’s generously stepping up,” Trump said.
Minaj told the MAGA audience, “We’re not going to let them get away with bullying him and you know the smear campaigns—it’s not gonna work, OK? He has a lot of force behind him and God is protecting him. Amen.”
X account Pop Crave shared a photo of Minaj and her trademark nails holding one of Trump’s Gold Cards. The $1 million price tag provides instant U.S. residency.
Broadcaster Don Lemon has called out Minaj for her MAGA alliance and last week called her a “pick me” for her strategic public appearances with Trump.
“She will do anything that is expedient for her politically,” Lemon said of the rapper. “And again, she’s ignorant. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She’s always weighing in on things that she doesn’t know about. Nicki Minaj should just sit the f--k down.”
Minaj was born Onika Tanya Maraj in the Saint James district of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago in 1982. She moved to New York aged 5.
“She got a citizenship card,” Lemon said on Thursday. “Which grants her U.S. residency. Isn’t it the whole thing that you can pay to get entry into the U.S.?”
“There you go,” Lemon laughed. “Told you!”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
