“Who knows how the market responds in a day in a week?” he asked.
The Treasury Department on Sunday questioned concerns that the US economy would enter a recession in the near future, following President Donald Trump’s announcement that almost every country in the world will face tariffs.
Trump has announced 10% baseline tariffs in almost every country, while other countries have already received higher collections based on tariffs and other factors collected in the United States. On Thursday and Friday, major US stock indexes fell by more than 5 percentage points each.
“Who knows how the market will react in a week? What we’re looking at is to build a long-term economic foundation for prosperity,” he added, saying tariffs were implemented as a way to negotiate with other countries.
Bescent also said he was not interested in the initial reaction to the stock market’s tariff announcement because “the market is consistently undervaluing Donald Trump.”
“I remember in 2016 that the market crashed on the night President Trump won. He turned out to be the most pro-business president for over a century. Perhaps in the history of this country, we have progressed to a very high post-inflation return over the next four years,” he said.
At one point, he said it was a “false story” that Americans close to retirement might not retire, as their savings could have been affected by a decline in the stock market.
Bessent described tariffs as measures that “escalate to escalate” and called them necessary negotiation tools. The former hedge fund manager said on Sunday that fears about retirement plans and the possibility of a recession are “a false story.”
“I don’t think Americans who want to retire now, Americans who have cleaned up in their savings accounts for years, will see daily fluctuations,” he said.
“In fact, most Americans don’t have everything in the market,” Bescent continued. “People have a long-term view… The reason the stock market is considered a good investment is because it’s a long-term investment. If you look every day, every week, it’s very dangerous. In the long-term, it’s a good investment.”
When asked again about how long economic uncertainty lasted, Bescent said the White House would “stay on the course.”
“This is a adjustment process,” he said. “It was something that President (Ronald) Reagan saw when he defeated the big inflation and passed (President Jimmy) Carter Murrays, so there were some terrible things at the time, but he’s going to hold the course, he’s going to hold the course.”
In a post last weekend, Trump wrote true socially that tariffs are needed despite the stock market slump, suggesting that investors and consumers should be “hard” amid global reforms, describing last week’s decision as revolutionary.
