UNITED STATE Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks with press reporters prior to strolling right into the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 13, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein|Reuters
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday rejected problems Americans may be having concerning a prospective upcoming economic downturn and the standing of their retirement, stating that President Donald Trump and his management are “building the long-term economic fundamentals for prosperity.”
During a meeting with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Bessent called it a “false narrative” that Americans that are close to retiring might be hesitant to do so after their retired life financial savings might have dropped today as a result of the securities market recession.
“I think that’s a false narrative,” he informed mediatorKristen Welker “Americans who want to retire right now, the Americans who put away for years in their savings accounts, I think they don’t look at the day-to-day fluctuations.”
“In fact, most Americans don’t have everything in the market,” Bessent included. “People have a long-term view … the reason the stock market is considered a good investment is because it’s a long-term investment. If you look day to day, week to week, it’s very risky. Over the long term, it’s a good investment.”
Bessent claimed he had not been worried concerning the securities market’s adverse response today to Trump’s news that he was imposing tariffs as high as 54% on the united state’ biggest trading companions
“The market consistently underestimates Donald Trump,” Bessent informed Welker.
He included later on in the meeting, “Who knows how the market is going to react in a day, in a week. What we are looking at is building the long-term economic fundamentals for prosperity and I think the previous administration had put us on the course toward financial calamity.”
In the days adhering to Trump’s toll news, the U.S. stock market plunged, with the Nasdaq, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 noting losses that have not been seen because the begin of the Covid pandemic.
On Saturday, following the marketplace recession, Trump protected his toll strategy, advising customers and financiers to “hang tough.”
“We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before. Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic,” the head of state wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Asked concerning for how long Americans will certainly need to cope with this financial unpredictability and “hang tough,” Bessent claimed that the Trump management is “going to hold the course” to enforce the tolls and reduce rising cost of living however really did not state for how long that would certainly take.
“This is an adjustment process,” he claimed. “What we saw with President [Ronald] Reagan when he brought down the great inflation, and we got past the [President Jimmy] Carter malaise, there was some choppiness at that time, but he held the course, and we’re going to hold the course.”
Bessent included that the previous “unsustainable system” of profession was additionally at fault for today’s financial unpredictabilities, informing Welker that “this has been years in the building, years in the making, this unsustainable system.”
“Our trading partners have taken advantage of us. We can see that through the large surpluses. We can see this through the large budget deficits,” the assistant claimed.
