U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference to unveil the official Trump Accounts website, at the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 17, 2025. REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz
On Wednesday night, December 17 — ahead of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was dining in a Washington, DC wine bar when he was confronted by an angry protester who voiced her opposition to Trump's economic policies.
In video posted on X, formerly Twitter, by journalist Brian Allen, the woman is heard saying she wanted to "make a toast for the secretary of treasury, Scott Bessent." However, she wasn't really honoring Bessent, but rather, attacked him for "eating well" in a pricy wine bar "as people starve across the world." And she attacked Bessent's policies are "economic warfare."
The protester's comments drew loud boos from Bessent's supporters, but a man who agreed with her told them, "Of course you're going to boo. It's the truth."
The protester continued, saying that Trump "cheers for the Monroe Doctrine" and attacking his Venezuela policy as a pursuit of "oil."
Bessent shouted at her, "You are ignorant, and you have no idea how ignorant you are."
And she responded, "You are responsible for the death of 600,000 people annually because of sanctions…. The blood is on your hands."
Allen tweeted, "After the encounter, Bessent complained to the staff and when it didn't work in his favor, he spat into his own food before storming out."