Scott Bessent has privately likened Donald Trump to one of MAGA’s most-hated figures, according to a bombshell new book.
The 63-year-old treasury secretary’s view of the president was revealed in a snippet of Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, a forthcoming book by New York Times correspondents Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.
Bessent has told associates that “Trump reminded him… of his old boss, the legendary investor and major Democratic donor George Soros,” according to a sneak peek obtained by The Guardian.
“They are the same animal,” Bessent is quoted saying privately.
The White House and the Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
George Soros, a billionaire philanthropist and Democratic megadonor, has long been demonized by conservatives—led by Trump himself—who float bizarre conspiracy theories that he manipulates global events to favor liberals.
Just last year, Trump accused Soros of wreaking havoc on the U.S. without providing evidence to support his claims.
“George Soros, and his wonderful Radical Left son, should be charged with RICO because of their support of Violent Protests, and much more, all throughout the United States of America,” he wrote in a Truth Social post last August.
“We’re not going to allow these lunatics to rip apart America any more, never giving it so much as a chance to ‘BREATHE,’ and be FREE. Soros, and his group of psychopaths, have caused great damage to our Country! That includes his Crazy, West Coast friends. Be careful, we’re watching you!”
Bessent has worked for Soros twice throughout his decades-long career.
From 1991 to 2000, Bessent served as managing partner of Soros Fund Management’s London office. During his second year on the job, when he was 29, Bessent helped “break” the Bank of England by shorting the British pound, a daring bet that later earned the Soros Fund more than $1 billion.
Though he left the firm in 2000 to start his own hedge fund, Bessent would return to working for Soros more than a decade later.
In 2011, Bessent became the Chief Investment Officer of Soros Fund Management. During this time, he orchestrated yet another massive bet, this time against the Japanese Yen. He wagered that the value of the currency would fall while Japanese shares would rise, later earning the Soros Fund $1.2 billion.
Bessent left the Soros Fund in 2015, once again to launch his own hedge fund. Sources previously told The New York Times that Bessent had grown frustrated with working under Soros and his son Robert, who was the firm’s president at the time.
