‘Sounds Like Malarkey’: CNBC’s Joe Kernen Calls Out Trump Treasury Secretary Blaming Biden On China

At the end of a relatively friendly interview with Joe Kernan, Trump Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made one statement about Chinese trade that had the CNBC host crying foul.

“We’ll just end quickly on China because we did have Ambassador [David] Perdue on yesterday,” Kernen said. “He met President Xi [Jinping] and had some corporate leaders over there that hadn’t been over in a while. and he wasn’t going to comment on trade. He said he’s more commenting on the relationship between the two countries, said that you would have to comment on trade. Any softening at all? Any positive things happening right now that we could expect to see in the next couple of weeks?”

Bessent began, “Well, Joe, the most important thing we’re going to see is a meeting, a policy meeting, with President Trump and Party Chair Xi in Korea towards the end of the month.”

Bessent continued:

So, it will be very helpful for them to be able to speak in person and set the framework for trade going forward. Our current trade agreement, we’ve been doing 90-day rolls with China, expires on November 10th. So, I think with President Trump’s leadership and his relationship, the respect that Party Chair Xi has for him, that this round — which would be our fifth round of talks — should show a pretty big breakthrough and we can start talking about things, whether it’s ag purchases —

And, Joe, to go back on the ag purchases, and President Trump’s Phase One trade deal that was signed in January 2020 — there were over 50 billion of ag purchases the Chinese followed through during President Trump’s term in 2020. And then under President Biden, their feet were not held to the fire for these ag purchases. And at the meeting in Geneva, when I asked them, “Why didn’t you continue buying soybeans and the other products?” They had one word. Buess what? It was “Biden.”

“Biden. Oh, that sounds like malarkey. Come on man!” Kernen exclaimed before thanking Bessent for being on the show. Trump’s steep tariffs on China have led to a trade war in which China has shut imports of U.S. goods like soybeans — turning instead to Brazil and Argentina.

Watch the clip above.