President Donald Trump’s hot-and-cold talk of tariffs has repeatedly spooked the stock market in recent weeks, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says he’s “not at all” worried about the long-term economic forecast.
During a Sunday interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, host Kristen Welker noted that the stock market had just suffered its worst week in more than two years.
“Does that worry you, Mr. Secretary?” she asked.
“Not at all. I’ve been in the investment business for 35 years, and I can tell you that [drops of 10%] are healthy, they’re normal,” replied Bessent, a former hedge fund manager with an estimated net worth of more than $500 million.
“What’s not healthy is straight up—you get these euphoric markets, that’s how you get a financial crisis,” he added.
Since assuming office in January, Trump has yo-yoed on imposing tariffs against neighboring trade partners Mexico and Canada and recently threatened to impose levies of over 200 percent on goods coming in from the European Union.
The Republican president has admitted that tariffs may cause everyday Americans financial pain in the short term and declined to rule out the possibility of an economic recession.
A report by CNBC on Friday found that 500 of the largest publicly traded companies have suffered an estimated $5 trillion in losses in the past three weeks alone.
Despite the market turmoil, Bessent reiterated his confidence.
“I’m not worried about the markets,” he said on NBC. “Over the long term, if we put a good tax policy in place, deregulation and energy security, the markets will do great.”
