When Donald Trump nominated Scott Bessent, a gay hedge fund guy, to be Treasury secretary, I admit I was curious — and dare I say, hopeful. However, any hope I had of Bessent becoming some kind of a queer beacon in the Trump administration has already been laid to rest.
And I’m not surprised at all. In March of 2023, I wrote about how being an LGBTQ+ Republican was nothing but a joke. That’s when the punch line, George Santos, was running amok while running his mouth trying to outrun all his lies. To think that there would be a queer Republican making us proud is still a pipe dream — and a bad one to boot.
By all accounts, Bessent should have been a beacon. As the highest-ranking LGBTQ+ official in Trump’s second administration, he has a very high platform since Treasury is right up there among the top cabinet posts. As such, arguably, he should have some obligation to represent a community that is under such tremendous siege.
Instead, Bessent has either copped out, sold out, spaced out, or capitulated to the Dear Leader. Perhaps it’s a combination of all the above. He has put all of his high-priced eggs into the basket that is MAGA. So again, like Santos we have another joke on our hands.
Bessent has chosen wealth over wisdom, sycophancy over service, and delusion over duty. His defense of Trump’s blanket and wildly insane global tariff plan isn’t just bad economics, Bessent is calling Trump’s tariff tantrum a path to “long-term prosperity” and an American manufacturing revival. That couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s a demolition.
And while everyday Americans tighten their budgets, Bessent waves away the pain from his reportedly $12.5 million dollar home in D.C. “Most Americans aren’t worried,” he told NBC News. Spoken like someone who’s never bought groceries on a fixed income.
But Bessent wouldn’t have a clue what an IRA is because he’s sitting on an estimated $500 million fortune, built in elite hedge fund circles. He is insulated from the very policies he promotes. He’s not just out of touch, he’s on another planet.
The spaced-out Bessent is the second LGBTQ+ person in a presidential cabinet (Please, for the love of God, don’t include Richard Grenell. That doesn’t count, and it’s a whole other story.). The first, of course, was Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who served with distinction and aplomb. He was also one of the Biden administration’s top spokespersons.
In other words, Buttigieg excelled at his job, which is probably why he is on everyone’s shortlist of possible Democrats seeking the presidency in 2028.
Now, contrast that with Bessent. The only overlap I see between the two Cabinet secretaries is that their last names both begin with a B.
Where Bessent defends policies that harm working people, Buttigieg delivers on infrastructure investments that help them. Where Bessent parrots Trump’s delusions, Buttigieg calmly explains complex transportation overhauls on Fox News with clarity and decency. Where Bessent uses his gay identity as a veneer, Buttigieg uses his to open doors for others.
Buttigieg shows up for our community and for the country with honesty and humility. Bessent shows up to protect his reputation and his tax returns. After all, if Bessent really cared about our community, he would have stood up to Trump, Elon Musk, and Pete Hegseth, to name a few, who have gone out their way to dissolve DEI programs that help queer individuals, and who are doing all they can to wipe away the existence of transgender people.
Buttigieg has spoken candidly about the significance of being an out gay public figure. Reflecting on his own journey, he remarked, “Being gay isn’t something you choose, but you do face choices about whether and how to discuss it.” His decision to live openly wasn’t just personal — it was a commitment to visibility and representation.
In contrast, Bessent has remained notably silent on his role as a queer figure within the administration. His lack of public acknowledgment or advocacy stands in stark contrast to Buttigieg’s proactive approach.
Rumors suggest Bessent is already looking for the exit, “freaked out” by the backlash at the tariffs and worried about his legacy. If he was smart and was honest with himself, he’d jump ship now before it sinks. It flummoxes me that people still hitch their wagon to Trump despite the fact that he always sends their wagon careening down a hill to crash.
If Bessent had a shred of decency and conscience left, he’d resign now, not because of tariffs, but rather how this administration is trashing his community — well, it’s not his, it’s ours, so technically he’s trashing us with his complicit acceptance of what Trump is doing.
America deserves better than a billionaire’s echo chamber and Trump sycophant in the Treasury. It deserves leadership. It deserves honesty. It deserves a Pete Buttigieg, not a Scott Bessent.
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