Former Vice President Mike Pence criticized Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday over his observation that the “essence” of the American dream was once no longer about “access to cheap goods.”
“Actually @SecScottBessent, it is. Tariffs are good as a means to bring nations like China to the table, but free trade lowers the costs of goods and improves the quality of life for every American. Let’s Pursue Free Trade with Free Nations and Revive the American Dream,” Pence wrote at the social platform X according to Bessent’s remarks.
Pence, who served as vice chairman all over President Trump’s first time period, has been vital of the brand new Trump management, principally the president’s place at the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
His newest feedback have been a response to Bessent’s speech to the Financial Membership of New York on Thursday through which he mentioned get entry to to reasonable items was once “not the essence of the American dream.”
In his cope with, Bessent mentioned, “The American Dream is rooted in the concept that any citizen can achieve prosperity, upward mobility, and economic security. For too long, the designers of multilateral trade deals have lost sight of this.”
On Friday, the secretary mentioned the USA economic system has turn into increasingly more reliant on over the top govt spending, including, “There’s going to be a detox period.”
“The market and the economy have become hooked, become addicted, to excessive government spending, and there’s going to be a detox period,” Bessent mentioned on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“The American dream is to be able to buy a house,” Bessent reiterated, including the management is attempting to “get rates down.”
Monetary markets slid this week in response to Trump implementing price lists on items from Mexico, Canada and China, and downbeat reviews about shopper sentiment.
Acknowledging the monetary affects, Trump mentioned in his joint cope with to Congress this week that there could be “a little disturbance” following the brand new price lists.