Trump Suggests He Can Use the Military on Bond Markets: ‘If We Have To Use That, We Will’

 

President Donald Trump suggested Friday he could use the military to stage an “intervention” on bond markets in a confusing response to a reporter asking about Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s efforts to bring down soaring yields.

The Treasury Department surprised Wall Street on Wednesday by announcing plans to “at least double” its purchases of long-term government bonds starting next month. The move initially sent long-dated Treasuries sharply higher, pushing 30-year borrowing costs down from the 19-year high reached just days earlier before yields climbed again.

Taking questions on the tarmac before boarding Air Force One on Friday afternoon, Trump was asked by a reporter whether he had directed Bessent to intervene and whether the move was his idea.

“No,” the president replied. “Not at all. No, he’s a very capable man. He wanted to do it. He’s very good at it. He is a good touch. Very good natural touch for the bonds and interest. And he did that? Yeah.”

The reporter followed up, noting that “yields have come back up since then.”

She then asked: “Have you talked to him about another type of intervention? Is that something he will be doing?”

“We have many types of intervention. That’s one,” Trump said, adding: “The ultimate intervention is our military. And if we have to use that, we will.”

Bessent appeared on CNBC Thursday to tout the administration’s “big toolkit” for steadying the bond market but declined to inventory his other options. After Trump’s remarks, however, it remains unclear whether he and the president are even working from the same toolbox.

Watch above via Fox News.

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