When people find out you work with celebrities, it’s always the same question: “What are they REALLY like?”
After all, most people are sophisticated enough to realize that a celeb’s public image — and how they behave away from the cameras — usually aren’t one and the same.
And sometimes, they’ll really surprise you.
I’ll give you a short, inoffensive example: About a dozen years ago, I worked with singer Marilyn McCoo, formerly of the 5th Dimension (who still looked and sounded amazing, by the way). She’s 30 years older than me, so I mostly knew her from “Hair” and that remarkable rendition of “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.”
So I figured she was a hippie.
When a news report broke about a NASA study that tracked the movement of stars, the rotation of the Earth through the Milky Way, and how all the Ancient Greek astrological signs were now inaccurate, a TV show wanted to interview McCoo. Nothing serious: They thought it would be a hoot to talk to the “Aquarius” singer about Horoscopes.
McCoo flatly refused. She told me she’s a born-again Christian and didn’t want to attach her name to anything she considered Satanic or immoral.
Which, of course, I respected. And it also taught me a valuable lesson about judging a book by its cover press-clippings: Not everyone is who they appear to be.
And this takes us to U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent.
His public image is soft and genteel. He’s clean-shaven and, seemingly, unfailingly polite. (To me, he almost looks like a bar of Ivory soap that somehow turned into a human being.)
In a world where MAGA personalities clash in public and private, Bessent stands out for his measured monotone speech, with occasional pauses to collect his thoughts. As he listens, he puts his hand or fingers on his chin or solemnly straightens his glasses.
Scott Bessent is also gay. He’s only the second “openly” gay person to serve in the U.S. cabinet, and the first-ever Republican with that distinction. Of all Trump’s cabinet picks, there were probably more conservative suspicions of Bessent than anyone else, which was less about his sexuality and more to do with numerous media outlets, including Forbes, describing him as George Soros’ “protégé."
It's probably why Bessent received more Democratic votes than any other Trump cabinet pick, other than fellow senatorial “club member” Marco Rubio.
But conservatives aren’t suspicious of Bessent anymore: He’s won us over. The dude is an honest-to-God warrior who doesn’t take [expletive] from anyone.
When Elon Musk got in his face, Bessent smacked him around (although he also denied giving Musk a black eye). In fact, our soft-spoken treasury secretary described his fighting style in the kind of language Bruce Lee would love:
“The Silicon Valley mode of operation is move quickly and break things. I always say here at Treasury we move deliberately and fix thing,” he said. “I think Elon probably fancies himself more of a Viking. I think I’m more a Ninja. Sort of the submarine surfaces, fires, goes back under.” [emphasis added]
And Scott Bessent hasn’t stopped firing artillery. On Monday morning, Politico reported:
A private dinner attended by dozens of administration officials and close advisers to President Donald Trump was temporarily marred by a dramatic clash between two of Trump’s top economic officials, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at one point threatening to punch top housing finance official Bill Pulte “in the f**king face.”
[…]
“Why the f**k are you talking to the president about me? F**k you,” Bessent told Pulte. “I’m gonna punch you in your f**king face.”
[…]
Pulte appeared stunned, and the tense encounter prompted club co-owner and financier Omeed Malik to intervene, according to the three people. But Bessent wasn’t having it — he sought to get him kicked out, the eyewitness said.
“It’s either me or him,” Bessent said to Malik. “You tell me who’s getting the f**k out of here.”
“Or,” he added, “we could go outside.”
“To do what?” asked Pulte. “To talk?”
“No,” Bessent replied. “I’m going to f**king beat your a**.”
As volatile as he is away from the cameras, Bessent has been hailed by President Trump as a calm, “soothing force” for the economy. Many conservative pundits, including Ben Shapiro, have even credited him for “singlehandedly” keeping the stock market afloat:
Boxing is known as the “sweet science,” so it’s not coincidental that some of the all-time greatest fighters have called themselves “Sugar.” It’s the most hallowed nickname in the fight game.
There was “Sugar” Ray Leonard. “Sugar” Shane Mosley.
And, arguably, the #1 pound-for-pound fighter who ever walked on the planet, the legendary “Sugar” Ray Robinson.
We now have “Sugar” Scott Bessent.
He doesn’t care if you’re the richest man in the world, a MAGA bigshot, or anything in between. Bessent won’t be intimidated. He won’t cede an inch when he thinks he’s right.
And if you believe elections are won and lost on the economy, he’s probably the most important member of Trump’s cabinet.
Keep throwin’ haymakers, Sugar Scott. It’s the only way we’re gonna win the midterms.
And nothing would be sweeter than that.
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