Scott Bessent has called the outlet a "fever swamp," accusing it of publishing fake stories about President Donald Trump's mental health

The New York Times is no longer a credible newspaper, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said, accusing the outlet of misleading and biased reporting on President Donald Trump's mental health.

During a live event hosted by the New York Times on Wednesday, Bessent called the newspaper a "fever swamp" and said it contributed to "one of the greatest scandals of all time" by downplaying and covering up former President Joe Biden's mental decline when he was in office. He argued that the same outlet now publishes what he described as "100% fake" stories about Trump.

Bessent added that he no longer reads the NYT and warned that in "20, 30, 40, 50 years," it will not be regarded as the 'paper of record' anymore. 

He dismissed a recent article suggesting that Trump, 79, has shown signs of fatigue, keeps shorter public days, and has appeared drowsy during midday meetings. The treasury secretary said the claims are false, joking that Trump only called him "twice at 2 in the morning last week instead of three times."

Trump previously condemned the piece, calling it a hit job and saying the outlet is "an enemy of the people." He added that he recently had a "perfect physical exam and a comprehensive cognitive test" which he "aced."

In recent months, Trump has publicly attacked several news outlets, launched a White House 'media bias' tracker, and engaged in high-profile disputes and multi-billion-dollar lawsuits with publications including the NYT and CBS.

Last month, Trump also threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion, accusing it of interfering in the 2024 presidential election by manipulating public perception through a spliced edit of his January 6, 2021 speech.

The Telegraph previously revealed that in a BBC Panorama episode, Trump's remarks were made nearly an hour apart and were combined and paired with protest footage filmed before Trump began speaking.

The scandal surrounding the episode led to the resignations of the broadcaster's director-general and head of news.