Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent appears on CBS’s Face the Nation for an inflation and affordability debate with narrative engineer Margaret Brennan.
The primary narrative can be seen in Brennan’s emphasis of the new democrat catch phrase “affordability.” Having gaslit the American electorate over the issues of Joe Biden’s economic/energy policy which created record inflation, the same media who ran cover for Joe Biden have switched during the Trump administration to calling the subsequent high costs an “affordability” crisis.
In essence, Biden’s economic, energy and monetary policies drove 2021/2022 inflation to record levels, this made all prices rise massively. Those high prices are now the “affordability problem.” WATCH:
[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning and welcome to ‘Face The Nation.’ We have a lot of news to get to, and we begin with the Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent. Good to have you here.
TREASURY SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: Morning, Margaret.
SEC. BESSENT: Mr. Secretary, a lot of people are out there holiday shopping. Here is how the President described back in April, what to expect from this season.
White House Chair of the National Economic Council (NEC), Kevin Hassett, walked out to the press pool to discuss the latest excellent inflation figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics today {BLS REPORT HERE}. However, the insufferable press pool wanted to talk about other things.
I’ll get to the BLS data below – with a gold nugget just for you, don’t share it. But first, NEC Director Hassett also let something slip in his responsive comments that most will miss.
When asked about Trump’s decision to terminate all trade negotiations with Canada, Hasset noted the discussions were frustrating, and “The Canadians were very difficult to negotiate with.” Then comes the key point (03:28), “The fact that we are now negotiating with Mexico, separately, reveals that it’s not just one add, there’s frustration that has built up.”
What Hassett just confirmed again, as if we needed more evidence, is that the trilateral trade agreement -the USMCA- is not going to exist once Trump opens it up for renegotiation. The USA team is already working on a separate bilateral trade agreement between the USA and Mexico, proactively. The USMCA is dead – we just have not made it official yet. WATCH (prompted):
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On the inflation data, the September inflation rate was 0.3 percent, much lower than all economists and pundits predicted. The tariffs are having no impact on the rise of consumer prices. In fact, the sectors with the most imported goods are the sectors with the lowest inflation.
Let’s put the events of the last 72 hours into context.
On Monday and Tuesday, Russian oil refineries in NATO countries Hungary and Romania suddenly, and simultaneously, have mysterious explosions and catastrophic fires {citation}}. On Wednesday, NATO head Mark Rutte comes to visit President Trump in the White House, and at the end of the day, the same Russian company, Lukoil, whose refinery exploded in Romania, suddenly becomes sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury {citation}. These events are not disconnected.
President Trump then disputes a Wall Street Journal report {citation}, further saying he did not give approval, nor does he know where NATO long-range missiles are coming from that were launched from Ukraine into Russia {citation}.
President Trump did not give authorization; however, he did cede authority to NATO to make independent decisions about long-range missiles. The U.K. provided the British storm shadow missiles, and Ukraine launched them with NATO support for targeting deep into Russia.
President Trump saying, “wherever they may come from,” is alarming in itself. We all know that British PM Starmer, French President Macron, German Chancellor Merz and NATO Secretary Mark Rutte are all in alignment to push NATO into a direct conflict with Russia using the non-NATO state of Ukraine to do it.
The frustrating part is not the obtuse deflection by President Trump – perhaps he really doesn’t know – but rather the alarming issue of questioning whether President Trump is getting accurate information from the U.S. intelligence apparatus to make sound decisions. President Trump has abdicated the conflict decision-making to the NATO “coalition of the willing”, while the USA remains in NATO as a sideline observer.
We have discussed at length how the EU/NATO intelligence apparatus will do anything to keep U.S. President Trump and Russian President Putin in conflict against each other. As a consequence of tracking the datapoints around this issue, these events in Romania and Hungary cannot be perceived as coincidental.
Remember, what the EU intelligence apparatus did in Romania to control the election result. Remember also, the largest NATO base is being built in Romania. We understand the EU/NATO (CIA) agenda for Romania with clear eyes.
Now, two simultaneous oil refineries explode. One of them a Russian-owned refinery in Romania, the other a refinery in Hungary that processes Russian oil.
According to Daily News Hungary, the Romanian explosion happened in Ploiești, in the Wallachian region, the refinery is one of Romania’s largest, with a capacity of over 2.5 million tonnes. the refinery is owned by the Russian company Lukoil.
The refinery in Hungary at Százhalombatta refines Russian oil.It erupted in flames on Monday night. “The fire broke out on Monday night at the Dunai Refinery’s AV3 unit. It was swiftly contained, and firefighters have remained on site since, MOL stated in a press release issued last night.” […] “According to information obtained by index.hu from industry insiders, the entire oil refinery faces the possibility of a complete shutdown. Prime Minister Orbán Viktor, in his morning post, has promised the strictest investigation into the fire.”
In related news, the Budapest summit in Hungary between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump has been delayed.
In a brutally honest Truth Social post today, President Trump calls out the EU/NATO nations to stop buying Russian energy products if they want him to lead the imposition of stronger sanctions against Russia.
The “coalition of the willing” has been openly and privately applying public pressure upon President Trump to push stronger sanctions against Russia. However, at the same time the EU/NATO are making these demands, they are also purchasing Russian energy products as delivered through third parties.
A non-diplomatic way of saying, ‘put up or shut up.’
Those of you who understand business terms can well understand “making the monkey jump.” President Trump is not taking their monkey.
This is a direct response to the public statements being made by EU/NATO leadership, who are -by design- trying to put the responsibility onto President Trump, and defer all their own culpability in the process.
This is similar to the approach President Trump took in 2018 when he very publicly called out German Chancellor Angela Merkel for continuing the Nordstream II Pipeline deal with Russia while simultaneously expecting President Trump to fortify NATO against Russia.
The financial punditry are verklempt, puzzled and perplexed as the wholesale inflation rate calculated by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics Producer Price Index [DATA HERE] shows a drop in PPI of -0.1% for August.
Despite the pundits claiming the Trump tariffs were going to drive up prices, the data shows the manufacturers of products are absorbing the majority of the tariff costs, the importers are absorbing the remnants and the consumer prices are not reflecting the tariff. Go figure!
Exactly as expected, the wholesale price of tariffs are being offset by production cost reductions by the export dependent manufacturing companies overseas. This is exactly what took place in the first term, and the situation is duplicating even with higher tariff rates.
Export dependent nations are squeezing their own productivity, their governments are subsidizing the critical industries and the tariffs are being absorbed before they even leave the docks. This is the USA “rust belt” in reverse. The same scenario played out in the USA for decades as domestic manufacturers tried to retain U.S. industry. Now the foreign countries are experiencing their own economic squeeze.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases the July inflation data today [RELEASE HERE]. Overall, inflation remains low and stable with a July outcome of 0.2 percent, 2.7 percent year over year.
The prices for highly consumable goods like food at home are declining, meanwhile the prices of long-term durable goods is ticking up. Put another way, the prices of the stuff we export are lower, the prices of the imported durable goods are a little higher. Put them together and the aggregate inflation is stable. WATCH:
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We should anticipate these similar economic outcomes as the baseline tariffs and reciprocal tariff rates begin solidifying. The largest portion of the tariff rates will be absorbed by the producers, the pass-through rate will be far less.
Additionally, highly consumable goods like food and energy products should remain stable with downward price pressure as the cost of production drops.
President Trump and EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen have apparently come to terms around the broad outlines of a U.S-EU trade agreement.
The EU will commit to purchasing $750 billion in energy products. The EU will commit to investing $600+ billion in direct U.S. industries. The EU will commit to purchasing their NATO military hardware from the USA ($500+ billion likely). The EU will open up all markets to USA products without tariffs. The EU and U.S. will both carry a 15% auto tariff for imports. WATCH:
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I’m all about the broad outline described in the video above, but I also want to see the details. If what President Trump said about all EU markets being open is accurate, it sounds like the Marshall Plan is over
Canada will not be happy; Europe gets a deal – Canada gets a cold shoulder.
Also, with U.K, Japan, ASEAN and EU trade agreements complete, President Trump is likely to begin focusing on the USMCA (Canada and Mexico) sooner than later. Two bilateral trade agreements will likely replace the USMCA.
I am not promoting the group, I am promoting the message within this video. As you watch Susan Kokinda discuss the events from the recent G7, and put the remarks by President Trump into context, you might find what she’s saying sounds incredibly familiar.
This recap may sound familiar because it is almost identical to what CTH has outlined {SEE HERE} and {SEE HERE}. So familiar in fact, it might sound as though myself and Susan Kokinda have discussed these issues; we have not. This video is the first time I have heard of her and her group, Promethean Action.
That said, what Mrs Kokinda outlines is precisely what is visible in the details of President Trump’s activity. While I might take exception to some of the lingo used, the substance of her explanation is spot on; particularly accurate is her overlay of how President Trump is approaching Russian President Vladimir Putin when contrast with Trump’s economic vision. This is well worth watching.
What Susan Kokinda says about the Senate opposition to President Trump, vis-a-vis the Big Beautiful Bill, is also accurate. It is within the BBB policy legislation that we see the springboard for the American economic revival. However, the larger program for cooperative nationalism is also why the same opponents to the BBB agenda are aligned to keep President Trump and President Putin apart.
If the USA (Technology, innovation, consumer market) forms a strategic alliance with Russia (resources, capacity, consumer market), and then negotiates a reciprocal trade and manufacturing arrangement with China (transformation to a USA manufacturing return), the geopolitical world order is economically changed. Here at home, the USA is no longer a service driven economy; a natural balance is restored. The multinationals will fight this hard. There are trillions at stake.
Russian markets open to USA goods, technology and innovation services. USA markets open to Russian raw materials and strategic partnerships. With expanded alternatives, China then has to compete for manufacturing etc. Controlled markets become free markets. The focus is on expanded economics, not war and friction.
Apparently, despite all the wailing, pearl-clutching and teeth gnashing from the multinationals, their economic punditry conscripts and the professional political apparatus, tariffs are not raising prices. Go figure.
