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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who had negotiated a much-touted rare earth minerals deal with Kiev, was reportedly worried that the\u00a0\u201clittle f**ker\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Vladimir Zelensky would mess up the signing ceremony in the Oval Office, according to a new book by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.<\/p>\n The infamous confrontation last year took place as the Ukrainian leader sat down with US President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance to finalize a deal granting the US access to Ukraine\u2019s mineral resources.<\/p>\n The televised press conference took a nasty turn when Zelensky criticized Trump\u2019s efforts to mediate a settlement with Moscow rather than increase military support for Kiev.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve dealt with this little f**ker,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Bessent, who was present in the room, told his associates, according to excerpts published by The Guardian.\u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s tricky. He\u2019s like the special-needs child for the Europeans. And he\u2019s acting like Mr. Bean on crack.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The Treasury secretary spent weeks preparing the deal and traveled to Kiev, where he reportedly engaged in his own shouting match with Zelensky over the\u00a0\u201cawful\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Ukrainian draft, at one point telling him:\u00a0\u201cWhat the f**k do you want to do?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Several other Trump aides were also worried about a potential Oval Office scandal, with then-National Security Adviser Mike Waltz desperately urging Zelensky to at least\u00a0\u201ccome wearing a suit.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Zelensky was eventually\u00a0\u201casked to leave\u201d<\/em>\u00a0the White House, while the deal was\u00a0signed<\/a>\u00a0without much fanfare two months later. Zelensky, who has since held several meetings with Trump to mend ties and even started wearing a custom all-black, military-style suit jacket, remains\u00a0\u201csomewhat traumatized<\/a>\u00a0by his train crash\u201d<\/em> almost a year later, according to Politico.<\/p>\n