Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been confronted about President Donald Trump’s claim that the affordability crisis is a Democrat-induced “con job.”
The secretary provided cover for Trump during a confrontational appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, during which he ducked questions about the rising cost of living and blamed Democrats, who do not control the House, Senate, or White House.
Pressed on grocery and energy prices remaining sky high, despite Trump’s promise to lower them on day one, Bessent relied on MAGA’s favorite defense: blame Biden.
“We inherited a mess,” he claimed. “It was the worst inflation in 40 or 50 years... Where was the discussion during Joe Biden? Because during the Biden era, it was complete gaslighting. There was a vibe session.”
Affordability, of course, was a significant talking point in the 2024 election.
Host Willie Geist reminded Bessent that Americans are still experiencing economic strain and that voters may now fault Trump, as he has been in office for nearly 10 months.
Geist said affordability was the reason that Democrats swept last week’s elections, including gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey. He also noted that Trump said Monday that affordability concerns are a Democrat-induced “con job.”
“Mr. Secretary, it’s not news anchors at NBC saying [this is an issue], it’s the voters a week ago saying life is too expensive in this country,” Geist said. “So do you believe the idea that voters are saying affordability is a problem for me is a con job?”
Bessent responded, “I believe even this morning, you had two people come on and say, ‘Well, I look at the price of the pump and I know costs are up.’ Well, gasoline is down. So that is a con job. And I think that’s what’s frustrating—”
Geist cut the secretary off.
“So you don’t believe that all the people went to vote last Tuesday on the issue of affordability?” he asked. “‘My rent is too high. I can’t afford to buy a house. Groceries are too expensive.’ You think they’re just misperceiving what’s happening in their lives?”
After stumbling over his words, Bessent responded, “We inherited an affordability crisis. We have slowed the price increases down, and they are going to continue to slow down, and that real working class wages will go up, and that that will address the affordability issue.”
Trump claimed on Monday that gas prices have fallen to a national average of $2.70 and will eventually return to below $2. Figures from AAA show Trump’s figures are off, as the average gallon of gas costs $3.07, down just a cent from a year ago.
While gas prices have dipped ever so slightly, most other necessities have not.
This week, CNN analyzed the average cost of household staples compared to when Trump returned to office. It wrote that “prices increased from January to September in five of the six overarching groups of grocery prices tracked by the federal government’s Consumer Price Index.”
The increases were: meats, poultry, fish, and eggs (up 4.5 percent); nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials (up 2.8 percent); cereals and bakery products (up 1.4 percent); fruits and vegetables (up 1.3 percent); and “other food at home” (up 0.8 percent).
The only staple to get cheaper, “dairy and related products,” decreased in price by just 0.2 percent, according to CNN.
Bessent, predictably, is not a fan of these figures. So he blamed Democrats and the media.
“They’ve gone to the courts to try to stop President Trump in this great economy—that hasn’t worked,” he said. “They get overruled at SCOTUS. [Democrats] go to the media—who carries their water—and that hasn’t worked, so they shut down the government and hurt the economy.”
Gest scoffed at Bessent blaming the media, but acknowledged “that’s part of your job.” He continued to press the Trump appointee on prices, asking what his message is to ranchers and Republican voters whose money is not going as far as it used to.
“There are many aspects of affordability that have gotten better under President Trump,” he responded, without specifying what. “They’re going to continue to get better.”
Bessent was later pressed by host Mike Barnicle, who asked him what the Treasury Department is doing to increase job security for Americans.
“I think what President Trump is doing in terms of bringing back high paying percentage of manufacturing jobs to the U.S. is all about job security,” Bessent responded.
Barnicle cut him off and asked, “How many have come back?”
Bessent answered, “It’s just starting.”
