Former Vice President Mike Pence criticized Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent on Friday for saying that the “essence” of America's dream is not “access to cheap products.”
“In fact, it's @secscottbessent. Tariffs are good ways to bring countries like China to the table, but free trade reduces the cost of goods and improves the quality of life for all Americans. Let's pursue free trade with free states and revive American dreams.” I wrote it On social platform X, in response to Bessent's remarks.
Pence, who served as vice president during Trump's first term, was critical of the new Trump administration, which is primarily the president's position on the Russian-Ukraine war.
His latest comment was in his response to Bescent's speech to the New York Economic Club on Thursday, saying access to cheap products “is not the essence of America's dream.”
In his speech, Bescent said: “American dreams are rooted in the notion that any citizen can achieve prosperity, upward mobility and economic security. For too long, designers of multilateral trade transactions have lost sight of this.”
On Friday, the Secretary said the US economy is increasingly dependent on government overexpenditures and “will have a period of detoxification.”
“The markets and the economy are engrossed, addicted, government overexpenditures, and there's a period of detoxification,” Bescent said on CNBC's “Scoebox.”
“American dream is to be able to buy a house,” Bescent reiterated, adding that the administration is “trying to lower fees.”
This week, financial markets skated in response to reports of downbeats on consumer sentiment, imposed by Trump, who is leviing tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China.
In recognition of the financial impact, Trump said in a joint speech to Congress this week that there was “a bit of a disturbance” following the new tariffs.
