Gay MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart said he’s ‘conflicted’ by Trump move to pick Scott Bessent for Treasury

A weekend anchor for left-leaning cable channel MSNBC said he was “conflicted” by President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to name the openly gay hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as the next Treasury Secretary.

Jonathan Capehart, a Washington Post opinion writer who moonlights as host of “The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart” on the Comcast-owned news channel, admitted he was torn about Bessent’s nomination because it was a Republican who chose him to be the highest-ranking gay official ever.

“Wait, Scott Bessent is gay, and married, and has children,” Capehart, who is also gay, said during Sunday’s broadcast. His comments were posted in a clip on X.

“You know if confirmed, he would be the highest ranking out LGBT person ever to serve — to be appointed and confirmed by the United States Senate,” he added.

“And I’m kind of conflicted about this.”

Jon Reinish, a Democratic strategist who was a guest on Capehart’s panel, said: “In that case, credit where it’s due…”

Reinish correctly predicted that the stock market would “shoot up” once they opened in reaction to the news of Bessent’s nomination, adding: “Wall Street likes the guy.”

“It is very interesting, yes, that is Trump and not one of our team that made that historic nomination,” Reinish said.

Capehart, who once shed tears on the air while discussing the events at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is the latest name on a roster of MSNBC stars who have struggled to cope with Trump’s crushing victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 presidential election.

“Morning Joe” co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump in person despite telling their viewers that the Republican was a “fascist” who posed a danger to the republic.

Brzezinski last week announced that she was leaving X, the social media platform owned by prominent Trump backer Elon Musk, in favor of Bluesky, which has seen an influx of left-leaning internet users who have fled the platform formerly known as Twitter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied more than 300 points on Monday and the S&P 500 hit a new all-time high as investors cheered Bessent’s nomination.

At its peak, the Dow was up more than 500 points before paring back gains.

Bessent, the founder of Key Square Group, rose to become money manager for billionaire financier George Soros.

“I am most pleased to nominate Scott Bessent to serve as the 79th Secretary of the Treasury of the United States,” Trump wrote in his announcement, posted on Truth Social.

“Scott is widely respected as one of the World’s foremost International Investors and Geopolitical and Economic Strategists,” the president-elect said of this Treasury pick.

Bessent, the 62-year-old founder of Key Square Group, has repeatedly backed the president-elect’s pro-tariff stance in a series of op-eds and media appearances over the past year.

“Scott’s story is that of the American Dream,” Trump said Friday, noting that Bessent “has long been a strong advocate of the America First Agenda.” 

The nomination of Bessent ended a bitter, behind-the-scenes race that saw fierce jockeying among Wall Street power players including Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick and Apollo Global Management chief Marc Rowan.

Lutnick, who co-chairs the Trump transition team and was thought to be the front-runner for the Treasury Secretary job, was named Commerce Secretary.