I don’t think there’s an appearance problem
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he doesn’t believe that in an exclusive interview with CBS News on Thursday. final statement Much of President Trump’s multi-billion dollar crypto earnings are problematic for the president.
“I don’t think there’s a problem on the face of it,” Bessent told CBS News anchor and MoneyWatch reporter Kelly O’Grady about Mr. Trump’s earnings.
Accordingly financial disclosure Announced earlier this week, Mr. Trump has made about $1.4 billion from crypto ventures since he began his second term. These include “meme money” $TRUMP and earnings from World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company backed by the president and his family.
Democrats in Congress have criticized Mr. Trump’s windfall of cryptocurrency, arguing that it poses a conflict of interest as his administration seeks to loosen regulations on cryptocurrency.
“This is a presidency of innovation,” Bessent told CBS News. “So whether it’s digital access, whether it’s artificial intelligence, whether it’s everything that’s going on in the technology ecosystem, you know, all Americans benefit from that.”
White House press secretary Anna Kelly told CBS News on Tuesday that “there is no conflict of interest” in the statement.
Bessent also touched upon the latest developments in his interview with CBS News. tax-deferred Trump Accounts and his perspective on the US economy struggling with the effects of the Iran war.
Bessent believes economic relief will come to American families
The Treasury secretary said his message to Americans struggling at the grocery store and at the pump created by the Iran war is “we’re going to get to the other side of this.”
Since the war began in late February, the halt of shipping traffic in the critical Strait of Hormuz, which holds about 20% of the world’s global oil supply, has led to soaring gas prices, accelerating inflation and driving up costs more broadly. In May, annual inflation rate increased It rose to 4.2%, the highest level since April 2023, according to the Labor Department.
The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline on Thursday was $3.83, according to AAA. At the height of the war, gasoline prices rose above $4.50 per gallon, but have fallen steadily in recent weeks as oil prices returned to near pre-war levels and the United States and Iran negotiated a new deal. A more permanent end to the war.
Bessent said he’s hopeful the average will drop to $3 per gallon by Labor Day.
“It’s a little bit stickier as gas prices are coming down,” Bessent said. “We’re trying to nudge the gas retailers a little bit. We tell them we’re watching them. We’ve had good response from some of the big retailers about what they want to do for consumers.”
Thursday business report Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that U.S. employers added 57,000 jobs in June, well below economists’ forecasts, but the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2%, down slightly from 4.3% the previous month. However, the report revealed that the annual wage increase was below the inflation rate at 3.5 percent.
Bessent called the divergence between wage increases and inflation a “short-term increase” and said he expected oil and energy prices to continue falling.
“I’m hopeful that we’ll see real wage increases, perhaps as soon as this month,” Bessent said.
Asked whether the stock market’s strong performance in recent months or the real-world pressures many Americans are facing are a more realistic view of the state of the U.S. economy, Bessent said he believes the market’s strong performance will be predictive of the direction the economy will take.
“The stock market is living in the future. So what the stock market is telling us is probably what I’m saying today, we’re going to get to the other side of this,” Bessent said. “Rates will come down and then we’ll get back to real wage growth. So both could be true.”
Bessent says Trump Accounts are a tool to create “financial literacy”
white house announced this week Starting July 4, Americans can begin contributing to Trump Accounts, a federal program launched earlier this year to help children under 18 invest money in the stock market and save before reaching adulthood, similar to how adults save for retirement.
“38 percent of American households have no investments in our major stock markets, and we want everyone to share in the blessing of the United States,” Bessent said. “In our innovations, in our capital markets and, you know, in the greatest economic engine in the history of the world. So, I would think over time that 38% number would move towards zero. And then the other thing is financial literacy.”
According to Bessent, more than 6 million Trump Accounts have been opened so far, and there are approximately 70 million children in the United States who can benefit from these accounts.
Starting July 4, the federal government will begin contributing $1,000 to the accounts of eligible children born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028. Trump Accounts It was part of the “big, beautiful bill” the White House passed last year.
Wealthy philanthropists, organizations and governments can also donate to accounts, even contributing to public stocks, Bessent noted. Last year, Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell and his wife Susan Dell announced that they would donate $6.25 billion, or $250 per person, to the accounts.
“Again, from these philanthropic families, institutions and companies, I would expect to see families with low income profiles, in fact there will be more loading into the accounts,” Bessent said.
Accounts can also be established in adulthood and transferred to an individual retirement account, Bessent said.
“We really want them to understand the power of long-term bonding,” Bessent said of families participating in the program. “You’re going to have stock in a company that a lot of people have; bank deposits. They’re used to getting interest, they’re used to paying interest. So what we want them to understand is, what does it feel like to be part of the action?”
