Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York became incensed Wednesday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared to make a joke about the mental competency of former President Joe Biden.
Bessent testified before the House Financial Services Committee in a hearing on the international finance system, facing hostile questions from Democrats. Meeks started by saying that the power to impose tariffs needed to be returned to Congress, before asking Bessent a rhetorical question that elicited a witty response from the Treasury secretary.
“Let me ask this question. Maybe I’m, maybe I missed it. Who was the president, who has been the president since January 20, 2025?” Meeks asked, with Bessent responding, “Donald J. Trump.”
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“Okay, and who was the president in 2024?” Meeks asked. “One believes President Biden.”
A Wall Street Journal article published on Dec. 19, 2024, revealed White House aides “insulated” Biden, even from Cabinet members, as his health declined, months after similar articles published by the outlet earlier in the year generated pushback from some media outlets. Meeks appeared taken aback by the response.
“One believes?” Meeks asked as some audible laughter was heard on the video. “Are you one of the non-believers that the election, that the American people didn’t vote?”
“I am not,” Bessent responded, with Meeks saying, “You’re not? You said one believes! Do you believe in the Constitution of the United States?”
Questions about Biden’s age and health arose during his administration and the 2020 campaign. On multiple occasions in February 2024, Biden said he spoke with people who had died, including claiming to have spoken with former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who died in 2017, and former French President Francois Mitterrand, who passed away in 1996.
In September 2022, Biden asked for Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski of Indiana at a conference on hunger that took place several weeks after Walorski and two of her staffers were killed in a car accident.
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