Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Newsmax’s "Rob Schmitt Tonight" on Thursday that President Donald Trump inherited an economic "mess" but has engineered an economic turnaround that’s "working."
Bessent told host Rob Schmitt that Trump’s policies are already delivering lower inflation and improving purchasing power for American workers — a recovery he portrayed as remarkable given the damage he said the administration inherited.
Bessent’s interview came as new federal data showed prescription drug costs saw their biggest decline in 60 years after Trump made lowering prices a national priority.
Bessent said Americans have legitimate reasons to remain frustrated after years of elevated prices.
"People should be upset," Bessent said, arguing the Biden years left households facing a substantial loss of purchasing power, with working Americans hit especially hard by higher costs for automobiles, insurance, and rent.
But Bessent said Trump’s policies are working.
"We’ve applied the right medicine, and things are getting better slowly," he said, comparing the economy the administration inherited to an emergency-room patient who had been "backed over by a truck."
Bessent pointed to inflation as evidence of the turn.
The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed core inflation — excluding volatile food and energy costs — was 2.5%, moving closer to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
When Trump left office, core inflation was 1.4%. Bessent argued that Biden administration spending policies drove it higher, reaching 6.6% in September 2022.
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