Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday it's a "false narrative" to claim that Americans are hesitant to retire because of the downturn the stock market took late last week after President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping worldwide tariffs.
"Americans who want to retire right now, the Americans who put away for years in their savings accounts, I think they don't look at the day-to-day fluctuations," Bessent said in an interview with NBC News' "Meet the Press."
Further, he said that President Donald Trump and his administration are "building the long-term economic fundamentals for prosperity."
"In fact, most Americans don't have everything in the market," he said."People have a long-term view."
"The reason the stock market is considered a good investment is because it's a long-term investment," Bessent added. "If you look day to day, week to week, it's very risky. Over the long term, it's a good investment."
Bessent also said he's not concerned about the drop in the stock market after Trump announced the tariffs, which could reach as high as 54% on the nation's largest trading partners, telling the show that "the market consistently underestimates" the president.
"Who knows how the market is going to react in a day, in a week," he said."What we are looking at is building the long-term economic fundamentals for prosperity, and I think the previous administration had put us on the course toward financial calamity."
Trump on Saturday defended his tariff plan and urged consumers and investors to "hang tough."
"It won't be easy, but the end result will be historic," he wrote on Truth Social.
Bessent, meanwhile, said the administration will "hold the course" but would not say how long it will take before the tariffs could be removed and inflation will come down.
"This is an adjustment process," he commented. "What we saw with President [Ronald] Reagan when he brought down the great inflation, and we got past the [President Jimmy] Carter malaise, there was some choppiness at that time, but he held the course, and we're going to hold the course."
He also claimed that the "unsustainable system" of trade that had been in effect in the past is to blame for the economic uncertainties being seen now.
"Our trading partners have taken advantage of us," he said. "We can see that through the large surpluses. We can see this through the large budget deficits."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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