Scott Bessent on Tariffs, Deficits and Trump’s Economic Plan (2)

On April 6, the Sunday after Donald Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariffs, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined the president on a flight back to Washington from Mar-a-Lago. Bessent wanted to talk about damage control. By then the image of Trump in the Rose Garden waving placards displaying import duties as high as 49% had spooked investors around the world, triggering the biggest two-day selloff in stocks since the pandemic. “We are in the process of destroying confidence in our country as a trading partner, as a place to do business, and as a market to invest capital,” billionaire investor ...