‘If I Said That, I Was Wrong’: Treasury Secretary Bizarrely Backpedals from Report He Privately Fumed at Trump

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent bizarrely backpedaled from a report that he privately fumed at President Donald Trump about the DOJ probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

In an interview Sunday morning on NBC’s Meet the Press, Kristen Welker confronted the treasury secretary about an Axios report that a “perturbed” Bessent told Trump the DOJ investigation into Powell “made a mess.”

“Axios reported that you were not happy about DOJ’s investigation, that you told President Trump as much,” Welker said. “Axios writes, ‘a perturbed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told President Trump late Sunday that the federal investigation into the Federal Reserve Chair made a mess and could be bad for financial markets.’ That’s according to two sources familiar with the call. Is that accurate?”

Bessent replied by distancing himself from the report in utterly bizarre fashion.

“You know what, Kristen?” Bessent said. “I’m not going to discuss my conversations with the president. But if I said that, I was wrong.”

The secretary went on to explain his rationale for — hypothetically — being wrong.

“Financial markets, stock market went up, bond yields went down,” Bessent said. “So the markets are the ultimate arbiter of over whether the Fed’s independence is being impugned. And bond yields went down. I can tell you we had two of the best bond auctions that we have had in months for U.S. treasuries. So the market is looking beyond this. And again, maybe the market wants some transparency from the Fed.”

Earlier in the interview, Welker grilled Bessent on whether Trump truly wants an independent Fed.

WELKER: Is President Trump committed to the independence of the Federal Reserve, Mr. Secretary?

BESSENT: Of course, he’s committed to the independence of the Federal Reserve. But independence does not mean no oversight.

WELKER: But doesn’t this undercut the independence of the Federal Reserve if the Justice Department is investigating renovations? There are renovations at the White House.

BESSENT: The renovations at the White House are not $700 million, more than $1 billion or $1.5 billion over budget, Kristen. And the White House, that is being paid for with private funds. If I want to buy a new chair for my office at Treasury, that is an appropriation. Just to understand, the Federal Reserve has magic money. They print their own money. So when you have no oversight, why not have a little sunlight? Kristen, I have called since last summer for the Fed to do its own internal investigation. And that has not been heeded, not been heeded. And again, I don’t know about you. If I were to receive inquiries from the Justice Department, I would answer them. They went unanswered.

Watch above, via. NBC.