# Bessent invokes assassination attempt ‘2 hours after being sworn in’ in dramatic brushback of leftist threat

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/bessent-invokes-assassination-attempt-2-hours-after-being-sworn-in-in-dramatic-brushback-of-leftist-threat/
- Published: 2026-07-16T15:32:57+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-26T08:14:49+00:00
- Original publisher: Fox News (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bessent-invokes-assassination-attempt-2-hours-after-being-sworn-in-dramatic-brushback-leftist-threat
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Bessent says he faced assassination attempt hours after being sworn in
- He cites it as proof of rising left-wing political violence
- Comments made at an international counterterrorism summit

## Summary

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he was the target of an assassination attempt by a "left-wing activist" only two hours after being sworn into office, using the disclosure to argue that violent political extremism from the left poses a real and growing threat. He made the claim on Thursday at an international counterterrorism summit, framing the incident as justification for the Trump administration's expanded efforts against far-left extremist groups.

Bessent did not provide further specifics about the alleged plot in the reported remarks, but tied it directly to the timing of his swearing-in as evidence of the immediacy of the danger. The disclosure comes amid a wider pattern of rhetoric from Trump administration officials highlighting alleged threats and violence linked to left-wing activism, set against a backdrop of heightened political tensions in Washington.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.