Scott Bessent is being called out after he took a wild swing at defending President Trump’s opulent government shutdown party.
The treasury secretary was asked about Trump’s Great Gatsby-themed bash by Jake Tapper on State of the Union Sunday, and quickly brushed away any suggestion that the president was living it large while many Americans went without food stamps or pay.
Instead, Bessent turned to the tried-and-true method of name-dropping Barack Obama, oddly comparing Trump’s golfing stats with those of his predecessor as a defense for the exclusive Halloween party.
Tapper introduced the topic by sharing a clip of a speech Obama delivered Saturday in Virginia, hours after Trump’s party had wrapped up.
After speaking about the Rose Garden-turned-cement and Trump’s $300 million ballroom, Obama took a shot at the MAGA partiers: “And if you don‘t get an invitation to the next White House shindig, you can always watch the festivities on Trump‘s live feed on Truth Social.”
Back in the studio, CNN host Tapper asked Bessent: “While SNAP benefits are set to run out and you can understand the general theme, I‘ve heard Republicans even express concern about the general optics here of parties and lavish ballrooms and such while a lot of Americans are hurting. What‘s your response?”
After suggesting that Trump had little else to do during the shutdown, Bessent shot back: “My response is that the Democrats should reopen the government.”
He then veered even further away from the question, adding: “And, you know, I believe President Obama played a record amount of golf of any president. So, you know, I‘m not sure why he‘s out there throwing stones.”
Many viewers took issue with Bessent’s deflection, with plenty among them questioning whether it was wise to compare Trump and Obama’s golfing habits at all.
“Did Tapper let him get away with saying that? Unbelievable. Tally so far: 287 days in office, 70 days playing golf. That’s one in every FOUR days!” one person wrote on X.
The commenter may have gotten their stat from the site Did Trump Golf Today?, which bases its intel on the president’s public schedule from his second term.
Meanwhile, a CNN Politics fact check from Trump’s first term suggested that more than three years in, Trump had spent far more time playing golf than Obama had at the same point of his presidency.
