Trump’s Multimillionaire Treasury Secretary Calls Stock Market Drop ‘Healthy’

The U.S. stock market has lost $5 trillion in value over the last three weeks due to upcoming tariffs threatened by the Trump administration and rising inflation, leaving many Americans worried about their investments. But Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said he isn’t concerned. In fact, he claimed the stock market drop is “healthy” and “normal.”

“I’m not worried about the markets,” Bessent said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. “Over the long term, if we put good tax policy in place, deregulation and energy security, the markets will do great.”

Moderator Kristen Welker asked Bessent, “Worst week for the market in two years. Does that worry you?”

“Not at all,” he said. “I can tell you corrections are healthy. They’re normal.”

When Welker asked whether he believes a recession is on the horizon, Bessent didn’t rule it out. “There are no guarantees,” he said. “I can predict that we are putting in robust policies that will be durable.”

Bessent also dismissed concerns about the rising cost of goods when asked to comment on remarks he recently made where he said, “Access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American dream.”

“Mr. Secretary, are you there essentially saying that the Trump administration is comfortable to have consumers pay more for goods in America?” Welker asked.

“What I’m saying is the American dream is not, ‘Let them eat flat screens,'” Bessent said. “That if… American families aren’t able to afford a home, don’t believe that their children will do

better than they are. The American dream is not contingent on cheap bobbles they get from China.”

Bessent seemed to predict that the economy will recover in the future thanks to Trump policies, despite the administration’s recent policies — including tariffs seemingly driven by the president’s thirst for revenge — driving the drop in market value.

“We’ve been in for eight weeks,” he said. “We’re putting the policies in place that will make the affordability crisis go down, inflation moderate… as we set the sails, I am confident that the American people will come our way.”

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The American people are not on Trump’s side right now. When it comes to the economy, 54 percent of voters disapprove of how he has handled the economy while only 44 percent approve in an NBC News poll released Sunday. Trump’s ratings on inflation and cost of living are similar, with 55 percent disapproving and only 42 percent approving. Those numbers are a significant shift from prior polls where the majority of Americans supported Trump’s handling of economic issues.

Bessent, a former hedge fund chief, boasts a net worth of at least $521 million, including a homes in the Bahamas and North Carolina each worth between $5 and $25 million, according to his federally-required personal financial disclosures — although the actual amount of his net worth is probably even higher. But while Bessent may be somewhat insulated from the whims of the market with plenty of financial cushion, many Americans will face job losses and lost retirement savings should the economy enter a recession.