Scott Bessent's defense of putting Trump's face on a $250 bill appalls analyst

Robert Davis
May 28, 2026 

RAW STORY

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent holds up a Washington Post article about a proposed 250 dollar bill with the portrait of U.S. President Donald Trump during a press briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 28, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's defense on Thursday of slapping President Donald Trump's face on a $250 bill ahead of America's 250th birthday appalled a political analyst.

During the daily press briefing, Bessent was challenged by CNN's Kaitlan Collins about whether putting the president's face on a new currency is appropriate, given the cost-of-living challenges many Americans are facing, and Trump is seeking more than $1 billion in taxpayer money to build his ballroom. There is also a federal law that prohibits living presidents from being featured on U.S. currency.

Bessent claimed that there is "nothing untoward" about putting Trump's face on the new bill and that the administration is waiting on Congressional approval of a bill that would allow Trump to be featured on the currency.

Adam Mockler, a progressive political commentator, was appalled by Bessent's reaction and explained why in a new reaction video on his YouTube channel.

"There's nothing untoward about it?! You guys are changing the laws to do it at a time when Trump is enriching himself at the expense of the American people," Mockler said. "It's getting to a point where Trump's enrichment is like a zero-sum game. Meaning every single dollar that he gains in the stock market via crypto, via corrupt deals, is a dollar that is taken directly out of the pocket of the American people. It's like a zero-sum corruption scheme that is screwing over all Americans."