Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called out CBS “Face the Nation” anchor Margaret Brennan on Sunday for warning in March that Trump administration tariffs on imported goods would raise prices for American consumers after inflation cooled to a four-year low in April.
During an interview on Sunday, the CBS anchor again challenged Bessent to respond to the economic concerns President Donald Trump‘s tariffs posed to consumers, but Bessent argued that “alarmist” predictions about inflation increasing had been wrong before.
“Everything has been alarmist, that the inflation numbers are actually dropping,” he said, referring to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report showing that the inflation rate fell to 2.3% in April, the lowest level in over four years.
Brennan pressed Bessent about retail giants like Walmart and Target weighing price hikes due to the uncertainty surrounding the tariffs.
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“When you go back-to-school shopping, things are going to cost more,” Brennan told Bessent.
Bessent disagreed, saying retailers like Home Depot have said they don’t plan to raise prices in response to the tariffs.
Brennan insisted consumers would feel economic pain from Trump’s strategy. She quoted from a Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Karl Rove warning that companies like Walmart would not be able to break even if they couldn’t absorb the tariff costs.
“But, for consumers, the reality is, there will either be less inventory or things at higher prices, or both,” she said.
Bessent reminded Brennan that in March, when he previously appeared on “Face the Nation,” she had reported that tariffs could lead to inflation.
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“Margaret, when we were here in March, you said there was going to be big inflation. There hasn’t been any inflation,” Bessent retorted. “Actually, the inflation numbers are the best in four years. So why don’t we stop trying to say this could happen and wait and see what does happen?”
“Just trying to gauge for people planning ahead here,” Brennan replied before moving on to ask about how much Trump’s recent announcement that he was doubling the tariffs on steel would impact the construction industry.
During that March interview, Brennan cited a study from the think tank, The Peterson Institute, predicting that Trump’s then-10% tariffs on China and 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico would cost U.S. households an additional $1,200 a year.
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Brennan previously clashed with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement during an April interview where she asked whether “AI” was used to craft the tariff announcement.
Trump’s tariff strategy faced legal challenges last week after a federal court ruled unanimously to block the sweeping tariffs he imposed on dozens of countries.
The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Wednesday that Trump overstepped his authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
On Thursday, a federal appeals court temporarily paused the lower court’s ruling, allowing the policy to stay put as the legal battle plays out, according to Reuters.
