Scott Bessent And Your Sweatpants

Scott Bessent once gave me $100,000 for the DNC.  Some of you will recall that I had high hopes when he was named Treasury Secretary.

Separately . . .

I knew my friend Simon Yates — a master of the financial universe — to be an accomplished skier, an accomplished pianist, and a student of the violin.  I did not know until recently what a fine writer he is.

Here he imagines Scott Bessent’s January 27 memo to the President.  It is very fun reading.  And yesterday he asked: Did Scott Bessent use AI to write his WSJ Article?

(Meanwhile, Politico reports: ‘I’m Gonna Punch You in Your F–king Face’: Scott Bessent Threatens an Administration Rival.)

Even though Scott almost surely didn’t use A.I. to write his article, A.I. truly dazzles — as you well know.

My two latest examples —

1. The string in my sweatshirt hood pulled all the way out.  I hate when that happens.  But this time I asked Copilot how to get it back in — and was instantly shown six ways.  I used the “chopstick” method . . . and it worked!

2. I’m headed to Europe soon. I told Copilot: “Many Europeans don’t like us anymore. Please design a T-shirt to convey the notion ‘SORRY, I HATE HIM, TOO’ without using his name or likeness.”

Two seconds later:

1. “Not My Circus”

  • Front: A stylized illustration of a chaotic circus tent with smoke, fireworks, and a broken megaphone.
  • Text: “Not My Circus. Not My Clown.”
  • Style: Vintage carnival font, muted colors.
  • Message: A classic idiom that subtly distances you from political chaos.

2. “Stars & Stripes, But Make It Chill”

  • Front: A reimagined American flag where the stars are peace signs and the stripes are rainbow waves.
  • Text: “I brought snacks, not politics.”
  • Style: Retro 70s vibe.
  • Message: You’re here for culture and connection, not confrontation.

3. “Apology Tour 2025”

  • Front: A fake concert tour shirt listing European cities.
  • Back: “Sorry for the noise. I voted for sanity.”
  • Style: Grunge band tee aesthetic.
  • Message: Self-aware, humorous, and instantly relatable.

4. “Make America Think Again”

  • Front: A silhouette of a brain wearing sunglasses.
  • Text: “Make America Think Again”
  • Style: Bold, clean typography.
  • Message: A clever twist that signals your values without naming names.

Not bad for two seconds’ “thought.”

Use A.I. to design your sign for October 18!

Assemble a group of friends to join you!

The Founders are counting on us not to let the flame go out.

Speaking of which . . .

Can you be in New York November 14 for “my” 26th annual DNC LGBT Leadership Council dinner?  Or support it even though you’re neither L, G, B, or T and will be thousands of miles away?

There’s always an LGBT element to it, for sure.  Over these years the dinners have helped, in a tiny way, to elect Democrats who have — against the relentless opposition of most elected Republicans — dramatically improved the lives of millions of Americans (at no cost to our fellow taxpayers) simply by giving us equal rights.

But there’s always — and this year, especially — a much broader purpose.  Because by helping to elect LGBT-friendly Democrats we help with all the other Democratic issues: affordable healthcare, reproductive rights, voting rights, livable wages, climate, consumer protection and . . . these days . . . science, the rule of law, and democracy itself.

I know the Party’s approval rating is 34%.  It’s 0% among Trump supporters and only 74%, last I heard, among Democrats.  But that’s not because 26% of Democrats approve of Trump or his Congress or his Court; it’s because they’re so rightly and incredibly frustrated by the our powerlessness to do anything!

Yes, we impeached him twice — and got a majority of the Senate to convict the second time.  But Mitch McConnell assumed the criminal justice system would finish the job without his having to . . . and Joe should surely have stuck to his plan to pass the torch but he didn’t . . . and . . . etc., etc.

It is what it is.

And an adequately funded DNC — obviously — is not sufficient to fix it.*

But an adequately funded DNC is a necessary condition to fix it, because without a well-funded opposition party, providing the basic infrastructure all our Democratic candidates rely on, our cause would be lost.

And we just can’t let that happen.

So sign up for the dinner . . . or contribute now anyway.   I’ll see it the minute you do, to say thanks.

*As I wrote yesterday, it’s groups like Indivisible that should be organizing peaceful street protests rather than the DNC; charismatic Democratic governors and presidential hopefuls who should be leading the charge rather than the DNC chair.  In China, it’s the Party chair who runs the show. That’s not our system.