Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied that President Trump's tariff pause was a reaction to the ongoing financial market declines, telling reporters Wednesday that the pause was part of Trump's strategy all along. (GETTY IMAGES/FOX NEWS)
"It is just a processing problem," Bessent said when asked if the market whiplash was a catalyst for the pause. "Each one of these solutions is going to be bespoke. It is going to take some time, and President Trump wants to be personally involved, so that's why we are hitting the 90-day pause."
Meanwhile, Bessent questioned claims from reporters that the bond market was "cratering" and said the information in front of him did not indicate as much. Trump, who also fielded questions Wednesday about the market volatility following his tariffs, similarly described the current bond market as "beautiful."
"I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy," Trump told reporters Wednesday about his view on the market declines in relation to his tariffs. "[Markets] went from, you know, pretty moderate today, but over the last few days, it looked pretty glum, to, I guess, they say it was the biggest day in financial history. That's a pretty big change."
"I think the word would be flexible," Trump added. "You have to be flexible."
WHITE HOUSE ADDRESSES RECESSION FEARS, CALLS MARKET VOLATILITY A ‘PERIOD OF TRANSITION’
A television broadcasts market news on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Friday, April 4, 2025. The S&P 500 slumped 5.97% on Friday, closing out its worst week since Covid, as investors continued to pull away from US equities after China escalated the trade war by retaliating against President Donald Trump's tariffs. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Stocks did jump back up on Tuesday before sliding back down once again before the markets closed that evening. However, on Wednesday, as Trump made his announcement about the tariff pauses, stocks rallied again, with the S&P 500 seeing its best day since 2008, according to Market Watch.
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Over the weekend, the president told Americans concerned about the ongoing market volatility to "hang tough," adding that his plan is already working with trillions of dollars already being poured into the U.S. economy.
"HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic," Trump wrote Saturday in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. "We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!"
The White House declined to comment for this story.
Fox News' Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/treasury-secretary-scott-bessent-denies-tariff-pause-due-market-declines