A forthcoming book chronicling the first year of Donald Trump’s second administration alleges that his treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, made a series of disparaging remarks about Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of the Ukrainian president’s visit to the White House early last year.

Regime Change was co-authored by the New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, based on "hundreds of interviews and unprecedented reporting from deep within the administration’s most closely guarded rooms," according to the Simon & Schuster website. It is set to be published on Tuesday, June 23.

According to excerpts published by The Guardian on Saturday, Bessent referred to Zelensky as a “little f****r” and a “special-needs child for the Europeans,” and called him “Mr. Bean on crack."

Newsweek has contacted the U.S. Treasury Department and Ukraine’s foreign ministry via email for comment.

What Did Bessent Allegedly Say?

The treasury secretary allegedly made these remarks “to associates” as he and others within the administration expressed unease at Zelensky’s upcoming meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, which ultimately took place on February 28 and resulted in a tense exchange between the two leaders.

Zelensky travelled to D.C. where he was expected to ink a minerals deal before holding a joint press conference with Trump intended as show of solidarity.

However, the Oval Office meeting quickly descended into a shouting match between the two presidents, as well as Vice President JD Vance, who chastised Zelensky for showing what he considered insufficient gratitude for American support for Ukraine and for failing to wear a suit.

The exchange—roundly viewed as an unprecedented public confrontation between heads of state—ended abruptly and the planned press conference was cancelled.

The minerals agreement, a central aim of the visit, was also called off, though the two countries ultimately signed a deal in April which created a joint investment fund tied to future revenues from the development of Ukraine’s resources.

But according to excerpts from “Regime Change,” Bessent had urged Trump not to invite Zelensky to the White House until he had agreed to U.S. terms on Ukraine’s mineral endowment.

“‘I’ve dealt with this little f****r,’” Bessent allegedly said of the Ukrainian president. “‘He’s tricky. He’s like the special-needs child for the Europeans. And he’s acting like Mr. Bean on crack.’”

Bessent and Zelensky’s History

Bessent had visited Kyiv days ahead of the White House meeting to discuss the terms of a potential minerals deal, during which the authors allege that the pair “berated each other” at length before Bessent asked Zelensky, “‘What the f*** do you want to do?’”

The Financial Times previously reported on details of this meeting, and Trump told reporters at the time that Bessent was “treated rather rudely” during his visit to Kyiv.

And Bessent himself described the exchange as “very heated,” while also criticizing Zelensky’s conduct during the White House meeting on February 28. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Bessent called his behavior “one of the greatest diplomatic own goals in history.”

“I was shocked—shocked—that President Zelensky would come into the Oval Office, behave like this, speak to the president, speak to the vice president, but more importantly, disrespect the American people like this,” he continued.