Trump's Treasury boss visits NY diner, downplays gas-price surge as 'blip'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: msn/USA Today

12h


YORKTOWN, NY − On a day reporting historic increases in gas prices and rising inflation, President Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary downplayed rising costs while promoting tax policies in suburban New York. Scott Bessent, head of the U.S. Treasury Department, on Friday, April 10, visited a diner in a Hudson Valley swing district about 40 miles north of New York City alongside embattled Rep. Mike Lawler, R-New York.

Bessent's tour in northern Westchester County, intended to tout the Trump administration’s economic policies in a district key to keeping GOP control of Congress, came the same day as Trump’s worst inflation report in his second term. It also comes amid the highest monthly gas price increases in recorded history, 21.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Rather than discussing economic fallout from the U.S.-Israel war in Iran, Bessent talked with residents and small business owners on the administration's policies, highlighting tax breaks, investment accounts for young children, and no taxes on tips for certain workers under the federal tax and spending bill.Before a diner roundtable with residents, Bessent toured Regeneron, a biotech firm, where he addressed rising costs with CBS News New York.

“This is a temporary blip from the one-time increase in gasoline prices,” he said. “If you look at the futures market, we’re going to get on the other side of this.”. Bessent didn’t speak to press at the event.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-s-treasury-boss-visits-ny-diner-downplays-gas-price-surge-as-blip/ar-AA20CwZQ

[wcmagumba]

1. Just a "blip" for this guy may mean someone can't afford enough food for their kids...arrogant twerp...

[2naSalit]

2. He loves the attention...

Even if it's abusive. He's a lot like his boss.

[GenThePerservering]

3. This guy is completely out of touch nt

[Justice matters.]

4. Multimillionaire tells whoever he considers the "rif-raf" to eat cake.

From wiki:

According to his financial assets disclosure by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Bessent's net worth was at least $521 million as of December 28, 2024; his actual net worth is speculated to be around $600 million.[128] At that time, he owned more than $50 million in each of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, and the Invesco QQQ, as well as real estate in the Bahamas worth $5 million to $25 million and a home in Cashiers, North Carolina, worth $5 million to $25 million.[129] In 2025, he owned farmland worth up to $25 million in North Dakota that provides him a rental income of up to $1 million per year.[130][131] Bessent said he divested his North Dakota farmland in December 2025 as part of his ethics agreement as secretary of the treasury.[132]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Bessent#:~:text=According%20to%20his%20financial%20assets%20disclosure%20by,is%20speculated%20to%20be%20around%20$600%20million.

[Buddyzbuddy]

5. Isn't this the same guy that said his mother-in-law wouldn't miss her Social Security Income

Last edited Sat Apr 11, 2026, 10:40 PM - Edit history (1)

if it didn't come for a month. As though she were an example of the typical senior citizen.

He's the perfect example as to why we shouldn't have billionaires.

TAX THEM INTO NON-EXISTENCE!

Edit: thank you to Bengus81 for correcting my misidentification.

[Bengus81]

9. Nope...Howard Nutlick, Epstein buddy at the island

[Buddyzbuddy]

10. Thank you for that correction.

I confuse the two of them often.

[bigworld]

6. Didn't Regneron have something to do with receiving lots of $$$ from Trump during COVID?

[niyad]

12. 450 million. They also had a drug that krasnov was able to get under a

"compassionate use" waiver, since clinical trials were not yet concluded, when he contracted covid in October 2020.

[Marie Marie]

7. I'm sure that the diner's patrons weren't random customers.

[IronLionZion]

8. MAGA has accomplished so much with this war

It's great seeing a wealthy dude talk with ordinary people about tax breaks. Yeah dude, taxes are really holding them back from greatness.

But at least we've lost the trust of long time allies that won't be rebuilt any time soon.

[sakabatou]

11. Bessent needs to get the Sonozaki special

IYKYK.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

13. MaddowBlog-White House starts preparing the public for persistently high gas prices

Consumers hoping for a break at the pump are getting signals from Team Trump: It’s probably best to start lowering expectations.

Link to tweet

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/white-house-starts-preparing-the-public-for-prolonged-high-gas-prices

Now the White House is taking subtle steps to prepare the public for gas prices that will be high for a prolonged period. The New York Times reported:

President Trump suggested on Sunday that elevated gasoline prices in the United States might not fall before the November midterm elections, a prediction that continued his mixed messaging and underscored potential political headwinds facing Republicans in the fall.

Mr. Trump had long downplayed a sharp spike in gas prices driven by the war in Iran by casting it as a ‘short-term increase’ that would subside within weeks. But on Sunday, Mr. Trump told Fox News that while he hoped gas and oil costs would drop before the midterms, prices ‘should be around the same’ in November — and might be ‘a little bit higher.’

In context, Fox’s Maria Bartiromo specifically asked the president whether he believes his policies will lower prices. After a long and meandering response that made little effort to answer the question, the host tried again: “Do you believe the price of oil and gas will be lower before the midterm elections?”

BARTIROMO: Do you believe the price of oil and gas will be lower before the midterm elections?

TRUMP: I hope so. I mean, I think so. It could be the same or maybe a little big higher

(Check out Maria's face as he says this!)

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-04-12T14:35:55.025Z

A day later, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who had previously told the public to expect a price drop by the summer, switched gears and said at the Semafor World Economy summit that consumers shouldn’t expect a break anytime soon.

“The president knew going into this that if you disrupt the flow of energy through [the Strait of Hormuz], in the short term, you’re going to push up energy prices,” Wright said.

Of course, if Trump did know that, he neglected to share those expectations with the public.

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in a written statement that if White House’s midterm pitch to Americans is “higher gas prices by Election Day, Republicans are in big, big trouble.”