Bescent Discusses the “Trump Boom” at Breitbart: “You Haven’t Seen Anything Yet”
This morning at a policy event put together by Breitbart News, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shared his thoughts on some unexpected news: the US economy grew at a pretty surprising rate of 3% in the second quarter. In a nod to Al Jolson’s famous line, he said, “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
Bessent framed this news within the context of the Trump administration’s economic policies as it faced criticism. “I was trying to reassure those who were anxious back on April 2. We’re working on peace deals, trade agreements, and tax reforms. They’re all shaping up nicely,” he noted. “A lot of this is about restoring confidence and building momentum. I didn’t really worry about the outcomes. There was plenty of misinformation and ‘Whataboutism’—if we implement these measures, what should we expect from tariffs?”
“The Trump boom is definitely real,” Bessent asserted. He remarked to his Chinese counterpart, “The world is on our side now.” This reflects a shift in global trade through Trump’s tariff strategies.
In a wide-ranging interview with Matthew Boyle, head of Breitbart’s Washington Bureau, Bessent discussed various topics, from the challenges of fentanyl trafficking, the “Trump Account” initiative, improvements in working-class wages, and the revitalization of manufacturing in New York City due to trade discussions with China.
Divided Views on the Fed’s Economic Strategies
Just hours before Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announced interest rate changes, Bessent told Breitbart: “We don’t anticipate any rate cuts today. We think the market might be overly optimistic about potential cuts, which seems a bit fanciful based on the Fed’s leadership.”
He was critical of the Fed, stating, “I was incorrect about tariff-related inflation.” According to economic data from June, the noted price increase was so minimal that it could almost be considered a “rounding error.”
“The dollar has lost 10% of its value. A conventional economist might argue that this 10 basis point variation likely stems from the dollar’s depreciation rather than actual inflation,” he explained. “We’ve transitioned from what I call Trump Madness to Tariff Disorder Syndrome.”
“It’s been a long road since I admired Alan Greenspan back in the ’90s,” he reflected. “I thought he was an excellent Federal Reserve Chair until the ’80s and through the ’90s due to his open-minded approach.”
Federal Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman might agree with this assessment. Last month, our anticipation of fractures within the central bank’s consensus turned out to be accurate. For the first time in over 30 years, two members of the Federal Open Market Committee (Waller and Bowman) voted against the decision to maintain the current rates. This last occurred in 1993.
For a thorough review of the Breitbart policy event, including an interview and panel discussion with Joe Lavorgna, head of White House legislative affairs James Braid, and Indiana Senator Jim Banks, refer to the Breitbart Business Digest.
In the meantime, feel free to watch the complete event video.
