Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent just dropped a rhetorical bombshell on ABC News, calling out host George Stephanopoulos for branding Republicans as "terrorists" during a government shutdown decades ago, as Fox News reports.
On Sunday's This Week, Bessent faced off with Stephanopoulos in a tense exchange that dredged up old political battles while addressing the current government shutdown deadlock.
The confrontation kicked off when Stephanopoulos pressed Bessent on the Trump administration's strategy to resolve the ongoing shutdown gripping Washington.
Bessent didn’t hold back, pointing to Stephanopoulos’ past as an advisor to former President Bill Clinton during the government shutdowns of the mid-1990s.
He accused the anchor of labeling Republicans as "terrorists" during the 1995 standoff, a charge that clearly caught Stephanopoulos off guard.
"The best way to do it -- and look, you were involved in a lot of these in the ’90s. And, you know, you basically called the Republicans terrorists and, you know, you said that it is not the responsible party that keeps the government closed," Bessent said, pushing for bipartisan action today.
He continued, "And so, what we need is five brave, moderate Democratic senators to cross the aisle, because right now it is 52–3, 52–3. Five Democrats can cross the aisle and reopen the government. That’s the best way to do it, George."
Bessent’s plea for five Democrats to break ranks is a bold ask, but it’s hard to ignore the math when the Senate split is so stark -- common sense might just need to prevail over party loyalty here.
Stephanopoulos pushed back lightly, saying, "I can disagree with you about the history there, but we don’t have a history lesson right now." Well, that’s a convenient dodge when the past doesn’t paint the prettiest picture.
Bessent wasn’t letting it slide, insisting he had the receipts, telling Stephanopoulos, "No, no, no. George, George, George. If you want, I’ve got all your quotes here."
That’s the kind of confidence that makes you wonder just how damning those old statements might be -- Bessent came prepared to play hardball.
Indeed, a 2000 PBS interview sheds light on Stephanopoulos’ mindset back then, where he described the Democrats' strategy during the 1995-1996 shutdown, when Republicans, led by House Speaker Newt Gingrich, controlled Congress.
In that interview, Stephanopoulos admitted, "Our strategy was very simple. We couldn’t buckle, and we had to say that they were blackmailing the country to get their way."
He went further, stating, "In order to get their tax cut, they were willing to shut down the government, throw the country into default for the first time in its history and cut Medicare, Social Security, education and the environment just so they could get their way. And we were trying to say that they were basically terrorists, and it worked." Talk about a loaded term—using "terrorists" to describe political opponents isn’t just harsh, it’s a deliberate attempt to poison the well of discourse, and it’s no surprise Bessent called it out.
While Stephanopoulos didn’t dive into a full defense on air due to time limits, one has to wonder if revisiting such inflammatory rhetoric is helpful when today’s shutdown demands cooler heads. Fox News Digital has reached out to ABC News for comment, and the response -- or lack thereof -- will likely speak volumes. Let’s hope both sides can focus on solutions rather than old grudges, because Americans deserve a functioning government, not a history seminar with extra bitterness.
