AI
CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins tried to turn a White House briefing into another Orange Man outrage session Thursday — this time over the idea of President Donald Trump appearing on a proposed $250 bill.
The latest media pearl-clutching erupted after reports surfaced that Treasury officials were quietly preparing for the possibility Congress could approve commemorative currency tied to America’s 250th birthday celebration in 2026. And naturally, CNN treated it like Watergate with wallets.
During a tense back-and-forth, Collins pressed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on whether putting Trump’s face on a high-denomination bill was politically smart “when people are struggling to afford gas and groceries” — a line Democrats and cable-news hosts have practically trademarked since inflation exploded under former President Joe Biden.
Bessent, clearly unimpressed, blasted the original Washington Post report as “terribly written” and “terribly edited” before explaining that Treasury staff routinely prepare for proposals long before Congress acts.
“Yeah, of course,” Bessent said when asked whether political appointees had instructed agencies to prepare. “But we prepare for everything if it gets passed, just like we were ready six months in advance for the One Big Beautiful Bill for tax guidance. So we have to prepare in advance. You can’t draw something up the day before.”
But Collins wasn’t letting go of the anti-Trump talking point. “Politically, do you think it’s a good idea, though, when people are struggling to afford gas and groceries?” she asked again.
Bessent countered by pointing to the broader national push surrounding America’s semiquincentennial celebration — the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding — which has drawn support from federal, state, local, and private groups across the country. “Look, I think it has-, I think that it’s bifurcated, that do you think we should have a 250th anniversary celebration?” he asked.
Collins replied, “Well, that’s happening anyway. But putting the president’s face on a $250 bill is a choice.”
Bessent fired back: “No, no, no. But Kaitlan, it’s not happening anyway. It’s happening because it’s being funded via-, by private citizens, by the federal government, by state governments, by municipal governments to celebrate our country. And I don’t think that there’s anything untoward about having the President of the United States-, that the person who was President of the United States on the 250th anniversary bill.”
Lost in CNN’s manufactured outrage: commemorative currency proposals have a long history in America, and presidents routinely appear on coins, medals, and special-edition government memorabilia tied to historic milestones. But in today’s media ecosystem, even preliminary Treasury planning apparently qualifies as a five-alarm political scandal — especially if Trump’s name is attached.
The exchange also highlighted the increasingly awkward position for legacy media outlets still trying to campaign on inflation fears even as gas prices and consumer inflation have cooled substantially from their Biden-era highs, according to recent federal economic data.
