Trump Official Shuts Down Inflation Hype as Tariffs Prove Effective

In yet another clash between legacy media narratives and hard economic data, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made headlines on Sunday when he confronted CBS’s “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan over her past predictions that former President Donald Trump’s tariffs would send inflation soaring and devastate American consumers.

The opposite has now proven true: inflation has dropped to its lowest level in over four years, and the very alarm bells Brennan once rang are now echoing in a vacuum of silence.

During his appearance, Bessent delivered a calm but firm dismantling of the media’s doom-and-gloom outlook, pointing out how Trump’s America First economic policies, particularly the use of strategic tariffs, have helped usher in an economic shift—lower inflation, higher domestic productivity, and stronger supply chain independence.

Brennan, flustered by the reality, tried to cling to outdated predictions and Wall Street Journal op-eds, but Bessent had the facts, the numbers, and the backbone to stand firm.

“Everything has been alarmist,” Bessent said, referencing the consistent, panic-inducing narratives spun by networks like CBS. “The inflation numbers are actually dropping.”

He was, of course, referring to the most recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which showed the inflation rate falling to 2.3% in April—the lowest it’s been in over four years.

That’s not an anomaly. That’s the result of policy decisions that prioritize American workers, American manufacturers, and American sovereignty.

What’s more revealing than the data is how Brennan tried to pivot. Rather than admit her March forecast was wildly off the mark, she launched into a new line of attack—retail prices.

“When you go back-to-school shopping, things are going to cost more,” she insisted, parroting claims from big box retailers like Walmart and Target.

But Bessent was ready. He shot back that other retail giants like Home Depot had publicly stated they had no plans to raise prices in response to tariffs. In other words, Brennan’s cherry-picked data didn’t hold up. The narrative didn’t match reality.

What Brennan and her media allies fail to grasp—or deliberately ignore—is that tariffs are not taxes on consumers. They are strategic tools used to level the playing field in global trade.

For decades, countries like China have taken advantage of unfair trade deals, dumping cheap, often state-subsidized goods into the U.S. market, undercutting American businesses, and hollowing out the middle class. Trump’s tariff policies aim to stop that—and they’re working.

Bessent reminded Brennan of her own failed forecast from just two months earlier. “Margaret, when we were here in March, you said there was going to be big inflation. There hasn’t been any inflation,” he said, not mincing words.

“Actually, the inflation numbers are the best in four years. So why don’t we stop trying to say this could happen and wait and see what does happen?”

It was a masterclass in messaging—and facts. While Brennan was still citing a Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Karl Rove, of all people, warning that companies like Walmart couldn’t absorb the tariff costs, Bessent stayed focused on results.

Rove’s argument, essentially an establishment panic line, suggested that consumers would be punished by rising costs or shrinking inventories.

But the numbers have proven the opposite: inflation has fallen, and markets are stabilizing. Meanwhile, U.S. manufacturing is bouncing back, construction is surging, and domestic suppliers are thriving.

Brennan attempted to shift again, this time invoking Trump’s recent decision to double tariffs on steel imports, asking Bessent how this would impact the construction industry.

This line of attack might have made sense under the Biden administration, where every economic policy seemed to produce higher prices and slower growth.

But Trump’s approach is fundamentally different. His tariffs are meant to protect U.S. steel workers, stimulate domestic production, and reduce dependence on foreign countries that do not share America’s interests.

The result? Steelworkers are back on the job. U.S.-made materials are in demand. And inflation is still dropping.

Let’s not forget that during Brennan’s March interview, she quoted a think tank—The Peterson Institute—predicting that Trump’s tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico would cost every American household $1,200 annually.

Yet here we are in June, with inflation hitting record lows and consumer confidence slowly recovering. The Peterson Institute’s dire predictions have aged like milk, but that hasn’t stopped Brennan and her media peers from treating them like gospel.

Bessent was not alone in being challenged by Brennan. She has made a habit of confronting every Trump official who appears on her program with aggressive interruptions and doomsday hypotheticals.

In April, she tried the same tactic on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, mocking Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement and even bizarrely asking if artificial intelligence had been used to write it.

Her tone reveals everything: skepticism toward anything Trump and instinctive defense of globalist orthodoxy.

It’s no coincidence that the media’s tone toward tariffs has always mirrored the views of their globalist backers. For years, the elite class has insisted that “free trade” is the holy grail of economic prosperity.

In reality, it created a hollowed-out Rust Belt, a service-sector dependent workforce, and a vulnerable supply chain that crumbled during COVID. Trump saw through the façade. His tariffs, while controversial to the Davos crowd, are aimed at restoring American independence and power.

Of course, Trump’s policies are now under legal challenge, with a federal court recently ruling that he overstepped his authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

But the very next day, a federal appeals court stepped in and put a pause on that decision, allowing the policy to remain intact while the legal process unfolds. It’s worth noting that legal hurdles are nothing new for Trump.

He has faced resistance at every turn—from courts, from the media, from entrenched bureaucrats—and yet his policies continue to deliver real-world results.

This legal battle will play out. But in the meantime, Americans are seeing the benefits. Prices are holding steady or even falling, wages are rising, and for the first time in years, there’s a real push to bring manufacturing jobs back to U.S. soil.

These are not theoretical benefits. They are tangible outcomes. They mean more money in people’s pockets, more jobs in American communities, and more security in our economic future.

Contrast this with the Biden years—runaway inflation, energy dependence, and foreign policy blunders that wrecked supply chains and raised gas and grocery prices to unbearable levels. Biden’s team blamed everything from Putin to meatpackers to weather patterns.

Trump’s team, led by competent economic minds like Bessent, are delivering stability through a clear strategy. Tariffs are not about isolation. They are about negotiation. They are about making sure America is never again held hostage to foreign suppliers or hostile regimes.

In short, the “tariffs cause inflation” narrative has crumbled. The real data tells a different story—one of resilience, renewal, and recovery.

Margaret Brennan can quote think tanks and editorials all she wants. But the numbers don’t lie. And Scott Bessent had them memorized.

As this election cycle ramps up, Americans are paying attention. They remember who said inflation would spiral—and was wrong. They remember who said tariffs would cripple families—and was wrong.

And they’re watching as Trump and his team steer the economy back toward strength, all while being attacked by the same pundits and politicians who gave us chaos for four long years.

The truth is, tariffs work when used wisely. And with Trump back at the helm, they’re being used not only wisely—but boldly.

Scott Bessent didn’t just win a debate on “Face the Nation.” He delivered a wake-up call to the American media: you can’t spin your way out of reality. And the reality is this—under Trump, America is finally putting itself first again.