Scott Bessent Blames Biden for ‘Inherited’ Affordability Crisis – Seconds After Dismissing It as a ‘Con Job’

Morning Joe co-host Willie Geist grilled Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as he appeared to struggle to settle on a message about claims of an affordability crisis Tuesday – dismissing voter concerns about living costs as a media “con job” before later blaming former President Joe Biden for an “inherited affordability crisis.”

During Bessent’s sit-down on MSNBC, Geist began his line of questioning by rolling back a clip of President Donald Trump’s Monday interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham in which he claimed the perception of inflation is a “con job” being pushed by the media, which is being fed the line by Democrats.

As the clip ended, Geist said to Bessent: “Mr. Secretary, it’s not news anchors at NBC saying, it’s the voters a week ago saying life is too expensive in this country. So do you believe the idea that voters are saying ‘affordability is a problem for me’ is a con job?”

The Treasury Secretary hit out at MSNBC as an example of what he’d heard the president talking about: “I believe even this morning you had two people come on and say, ‘wow, I look at the price at the pump and I know costs are up.’ Well, gasoline is down. So that is a con job.”

“So you don’t believe that all the people who went to vote last Tuesday on the issue of affordability – ‘my rent is too high. I can’t afford to buy a house. Groceries are too expensive’ – do you think they’re just misperceiving what’s happening in their lives?” Geist interrupted to ask.

In response, Bessent pivoted to blame the previous administration for the affordability crisis he’d just dismissed: “I think that they that they’re – that we inherited an affordability crisis. We have slowed the price increases down, and they are going to continue to slow down. And that real working class wages will go up and that that will address the affordability issue.”

Bessent went on to accuse Democrats of using the courts and the media to “try to stop President Trump and this great economy,” claiming those efforts had failed.

“Let’s keep the economy open,” he said. “Let our policies kick in.”

Geist, however, rounded again: “You can blame the media, I understand that’s part of your job, but let’s talk about voters who are saying life is too expensive, not just talking about Democrats in New York City who might have voted for mayor elect [Zohran] Mamdani – ranchers, Republicans in red states saying things are too expensive.”

He added: “What do you say to them? Not that it’s a con job, but they feel like life is too expensive, but that it’s a reality of their lives.”

Bessent replied: “I say that there are many aspects of affordability that have gotten better under President Trump. They’re going to continue to get better.”

Watch above via MSNBC.

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