Overview
- Excerpts from Regime Change by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, published ahead of the book’s June 23 release, quote Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent using vulgar, disparaging language about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and advising President Trump not to receive him in the White House.
- The book says those private comments came after a 45-minute shouting match between Bessent and Zelenskyy in Kyiv during talks over a proposed minerals and resource agreement.
- A public Oval Office clash on February 28, 2025 between Trump, Zelenskyy and Vice President J.D. Vance then led to the cancellation of a planned joint press conference and immediate signing, though the United States and Ukraine later signed a revised deal in April 2025 that created a joint investment fund tied to future resource revenues.
- Bessent had already publicly criticized Zelenskyy’s conduct after the Oval Office meeting in a Bloomberg interview, calling the episode a major diplomatic misstep, which means parts of the dispute were previously on record.
- News outlets say they have asked the U.S. Treasury and the Ukrainian foreign ministry for comment on the book’s new allegations and received no immediate official responses, raising fresh questions about internal White House decision making and how U.S. diplomatic messaging toward Ukraine was shaped.