Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined the rotating cast of Trump characters filling in for White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at the podium on Thursday, and he had one request—call him doctor.
Bessent received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from the University of South Carolina earlier this month, so he kicked off the briefing with an instruction to the assembled media.
“I will mention, three weeks ago I got an honorary degree from South Carolina, so if you really want to get a question, you could call me Dr. Bessent,” he said with a smile.
The packed room of White House reporters laughed in response.
Throughout the briefing, several reporters did take Bessent up on his comment and called the treasury secretary doctor before posing their questions, though the vast majority referred to him as Mr. Secretary.
At one point, he even joked that a reporter hoping to ask two questions would only get one because she didn’t address him by the honorary title.
While Bessent was Yale-educated, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree and later serving there as an adjunct professor, he did not earn a doctorate through a particular program.
Bessent received his honorary degree on May 9. He also delivered the commencement speech at the University of South Carolina graduation.
His claim about wanting to be called “doctor” came after MAGA influencers and commentators spent years blasting former first lady Jill Biden for being referred to as Dr. Biden.
The former first lady earned a doctoral degree in education from the University of Delaware before teaching for decades, but conservatives repeatedly blasted her for using the title “doctor” because, while she held a doctorate, she was not a medical doctor.
During the briefing, Bessent largely dodged questions on topics ranging from the war with Iran to the president’s $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
When it came to the war, the secretary argued he would not preview any deal being worked out and would not even confirm that a tentative agreement had been reached.
“Everything depends on what the president wants to do, and President Trump isn’t going to make a bad deal for the American people,” he said.
When he was asked about the $1.8 billion fund, Bessent said it would be the only question he would answer on the topic before reading off a statement. He said there was ongoing litigation, so it would be inappropriate for him to comment on it before defending Trump. He later referred any questions to the acting attorney general, Trump’s former personal lawyer, Todd Blanche.
Where Bessent faced perhaps the most intense grilling was over the push to put Trump’s face on a $250 bill. He said Congress would have to pass a law to allow for a living president to be featured on U.S. currency.
Later, when he was pressed on his personal opinion, the Treasury secretary said he did not believe there was anything untoward about having the president on the $250 bill.
