Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was forced to make an embarrassing correction on affordability during a live TV interview as frustrated voters head to the polls.
During an appearance on Houston’s ABC13, Bessent was questioned about food prices. He boasted that costs are coming down, then walked back his own claim before he finished the sentence.
“Food costs have dropped substantially… or the rate of change in food cost has dropped substantially, and like I said, we’re gonna get to the other side of this,” Bessent said.
ABC13 made sure viewers were aware of the distinction. The revised wording is true in a sense, as food prices are not climbing at the old pace, but the station pointed out they are still going up.
Bessent was in no mood to deny the economy is short of where the Trump administration would have it, though he maintained there are plenty of good signs. The figures are inconclusive at best. Gas is running about a dollar more than it did a year ago and interest rates are up, while egg prices and unemployment have eased. In all, ABC13 says the cost of living is a big concern for the voters as the polls suggest.
Bessent said some of the hardship can be blamed on the war with Iran and the energy price spike it has caused. He is confident oil markets will be better supplied once hostilities are over, and he noted a 7 percent fall in oil prices that day on the strength of a prospective deal with Iran.
He also made the case that the administration is producing some real gains. Bessent spoke of an “industrial renaissance” in the form of manufacturing and construction work coming back. Real wages are up 1 percent since Trump assumed office, he claimed, putting them ahead of the previous administration.
“Again, it’s not what we’re shooting for,” he said of the wage gains, pointing to the energy spike. Core inflation, which excludes energy, has receded in three of the last four months, he added.
Yet the Treasury secretary’s economic boast does not match the experience of the voter at the register. Texans have made clear that issues from health care to income and interest rates are shaping their vote. Some polls show Democrats with a narrow advantage over the Republicans when it comes to the economy.
It is poor timing for the White House as Americans head to the polls for the midterms on Tuesday. Bessent’s words are a promise of post-war relief in the face of ever-higher grocery bills. For most shoppers, a slower increase may not have the impact required for the GOP to hold on to power in Congress.