Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent laughed off concerns about his notes during a cabinet meeting that have gone viral this week.

During a Thursday White House press briefing, Bessent stepped behind the podium to give updates about the economy, the Iran war, and more. At one point, he was asked by Daily Mail’s Elina Shirazi what the meaning behind his recent viral cabinet notes meant.

Reuters senior photo journalist Evan Vucci caught Bessent’s notes during a cabinet meeting this week which included Bessent scribbling the word “resistance” multiple times. Critics pounced on the image, calling it “cringe” and arguing it showed “desperation” as the economy is still suffering from high costs and rising gas prices amid the ongoing Iran conflict.

Shirazi asked Bessent about the notes after Bessent argued gas prices will soon come tumbling down once a deal with Iran is in place and the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply moves through, is fully up and running. Iran has continued targeting and charging tolls to ships in the region as talks with the United States continue.

Shirazi asked if the “resilience” them was an attempt to keep either President Donald Trump or Bessent himself “calm.”

“You wrote resilience on your cabinet [meeting notes]. Several times the photographers zoomed into it. Are you trying to keep the president calm? Are you trying to keep yourself calm? Why did you write all of those notes?” she asked.

Bessent dismissed it and laughed off reporters getting any sort of “scoop” off of his notes.

“So people could look over my shoulder, photograph them, and think they got a scoop,” Bessent said, earning some laughter from the room.

According to a Thursday Axios report, there is a tentative deal in place with Iran that is waiting on Trump’s final approval.

Watch above via Fox News.

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