Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the American dream was not cheap goods from China but to realize “real wage gains.”
Host Kristen Welker said, “I want to ask you about something that you actually said last week, and we’ll discuss it on the other side. Take a look.”
At the Economic Club of New York, Bessent said, “Access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American dream. The American dream is rooted in the concept that any citizen can achieve prosperity, upward mobility and economic security.”
Welker said, “Mr. Secretary, are you there essentially saying that the Trump administration is comfortable to have consumers pay more for goods in America?”
Bessent said, “Not at all, Kristen. What I’m saying is the American dream is not let them eat flat screens. If American families aren’t able to afford a home, don’t believe that their children will do better than they are. The American dream is not contingent on cheap baubles from China. It is more than that. We are focused on affordability. It’s mortgages, it’s cars, it’s real wage gains.
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