Written by Chun Gongzi
Is this what is called American democracy and freedom? It made the whole world watch another joke.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Bescent has recently become the focus of the news. It’s not because of some economic policy, but because he was furious at his colleagues at a high-end dinner, and even threatened to smash your face with one punch! This scene sounds like a gangster movie, not a party with senior U.S. government officials.
This is not the first time Becente has gotten angry at a meeting. As early as April this year, he had a quarrel with Tesla CEO Elon Musk at the White House, and even the visiting Italian Prime Minister Meloni could hear it clearly.
The incident happened last Wednesday evening (September 3) at a top private club called "The Executive Department" in Georgetown, Washington. The dinner was organized by Trump's wealthy financial backer Malik, and guests included more than 30 prominent figures in the political and business circles, including the Secretary of Transportation, Commerce, and Agriculture.
Somehow, Becente clashed with Federal Housing and Finance Director Bill Pulte. Becente suddenly lost control of his emotions, and he used a "national scolding" output to Pulte:
What did you tell the president about me? Go ahead, I'm going to smash your X's face with one punch!
He also threatened to "beat" Pulte, and even asked the dinner organizer to drive Pulte out, claiming that "either I leave or he goes." In the end, the organizer had to arrange the two of them at both ends of the long table and try to stay away as far as possible.
This is not a simple personal grudge, and it involves turf disputes and policy differences within the Trump team.
On the one hand, the two have a dominant dispute over the privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae. Trump announced in May this year that Becent, Commerce Secretary Lutnik and Pulte jointly took charge of the privatization plan for the two-households, but the three-person group had a complicated relationship - Lutnik was a contender for the Treasury Secretary's position, and had a tense relationship with Becente but close relationship with Pulte.
On the other hand, the two have opposite positions on the issue of Fed Chairman Powell's stay or leave. Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to remove Powell, while Becent publicly stated that Powell does not need to step down and warned Trump that forcibly fired the Federal Reserve chairman could have disastrous consequences for the financial markets.
Pulte chose the route of full loyalty to Trump, and repeatedly publicly called on Powell to resign, and even prepared a draft letter for Trump to fire Powell. This kind of loyalty obviously made Becent feel stabbed in the back.
It should be noted here that the US Treasury Secretary has a very tough attitude towards us. It can even be said that the main members of Trump's team are different from Musk's attitude towards China.
Previously, the US Treasury Secretary admitted in an interview with the media: "The United States has long wanted to curb China's rise, but China's military and technological strength are no longer comparable to the Soviet Union in the past!" This statement implies that the United States no longer has enough advantages when facing China's rise as it was when facing the Soviet Union.
Bester once said in an interview with CNBC that China's escalation of the situation was wrong, claiming that "the United States has the biggest bargaining chips and China will lose its privileges." But the core of this argument is to simplify the global economic order into a one-way dominance relationship, as if the world is still in the old era when the United States issued orders and other countries passively obeyed.
The reality is that China's dependence on U.S. trade continues to decline, from 19.2% in 2018 to 14.7% in 2024. At the same time, China's trade share with countries along the "Belt and Road" has risen rapidly, and is now close to half of the total trade volume. In industries such as new energy vehicles, photovoltaics, and lithium batteries, China's development not only reduces its dependence on external technologies, but also gives China the initiative in the transformation of the global green economy.
The repeated angers of US Treasury Secretary Becent Becent, on the surface, is a personal temper and bureaucratic struggle, but in fact it exposes the profound power game and policy differences within the Trump administration. To put it bluntly, it is the internal strife caused by the team in order to fight for power and profit.
Musk is different. He not only opposes Trump's policies, but also believes that the United States should cooperate with China rather than blindly treating China as a competitor.
