Trump deal with Iran, gas prices, economics & more addressed during Scott Bessent, Larry Kudlow chat

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:02]Thank you. Thank you everybody. Thank you Mr. Secretary for a excellent speech. I was um just sitting there thinking having having worked for Reagan many many years ago. Peace through strength.

[00:00:16]>> Peace through strength.

[00:00:16]>> Peace through strength.

[00:00:17]>> It hasn't changed. It hasn't changed uh between those two bookends. And uh it's a terrific thing. Peace through strength. Uh trust but verify. faculty >> and um we'll get to I want to talk about the industrial economy because your points are very important the America first trade policy the economy is booming but I you know must ask the world is waiting I guess for uh new information the president is meeting with the cabinet I'm sure you're plugged into this remotely um how do you read the situation are we close to a deal uh the last truth social I said basically they're looking at the issues but the red lines have not changed with respect to denuclearization and no enrichment and reopening the straight of hormones and no money in the next uh 30 or 60 days. Uh it's a little sketchy but the whole world is watching.

[00:01:16]The markets are positively reacting to it. So I thought I'd give you a chance to clarify it situation. Give us your thoughts.

[00:01:24]>> Yeah. So the the president was very clear in the cabinet meeting what he was looking for o on the the straits free free and open access that a as we saw before February 27th and that Iran must give up their highlyenriched uranium and cannot have a nuclear weapon. And to be clear, I I think one of the things that has gone unappreciated and unnoticed here is this is the first time the Iranians have been willing to discuss the nuclear subject like you know before we we have the right to do this.

[00:02:00]undisputed and so I think between five and a half six weeks of an incredibly successful military campaign and then operation economic fury where we have really cut them off and they they are at the end of their tether now financially uh I think 40 or 50% of the troops aren't getting paid police aren't reporting to the station inflation's probably over 200% They're having to give out food vouchers. They they have turned off the internet.

[00:02:34]So there there was an information vacuum and you we'll see is the u the the Iranians have engaged as they could. Uh I would point out we did not change we did not have regime change but we changed the regime. the the first level leaders decapitated, the second level decapitated. So, we're dealing with with the third level. And you know, it it's it's very tough because on one side we have a theocracy with the clerics, on the other side, we have a thugocracy with the IRGC.

[00:03:15]And you know, you you've got to convince both sides, >> you know. I think um I think kudos to you.

[00:03:24]You're probably the most significant, most powerful, most successful wartime Treasury Secretary certainly since World War II. You've closed them down. They are our enemies.

[00:03:42]In fact, Roger Zachheim reminds me uh Reagan Institute did a poll. 80% of Americans 80% of Americans believe Iran is an enemy, the United States. Now, where the other 20% >> I I don't know who the other 20 are.

[00:03:57]>> They're all They're all New York and Connecticut. I'll >> leave that aside. But what you have done uh with the economic fury, you basically turned their water off. Uh maybe you want to say how how long can they go?

[00:04:12]They're not meeting payrolls. They're not meeting retirement. They're not showing up for work. You closed down their offshore bank accounts. You've closed down their oil operations. You basically closed the whole place down.

[00:04:23]It's kind of all over. But the shouting, it seems to me.

[00:04:25]>> Well, Treasury, we're doing the financial blockade and the the US Navy who I want to tell you about a group that hasn't been this active since World War II. It's the Navy. Yes. They've done an incredible job. And you know it it's the what when when I talked to General Kaine and the Secretary Hegith they they said like these young people aren't afraid. They want to fight.

[00:04:51]>> They signed this is what they signed up for. and some of the precision that where they blockaded um where they blockaded the Iranian ports with virtually or perhaps zero uh intrusions have been amazing. Car Island, which is the Iranian oil export facility, is shut down.

[00:05:15]>> Basically turned that off.

[00:05:16]>> The blockade the blockade did that. We think they have the lowest amount of oil on the water. their their only client is China. And um one I would point out that the Iranians made a very big strategic mistake because everyone said, "Oh, well, you know, the the Iranians attacked the the GCC and the infrastructure and that really makes them invulnerable."

[00:05:44]that on my on my side of the my duties, they made my job so much easier because before the many of our great GC Gulf allies were a little less than transparent about their banking system that oh no, we don't have any Iranian oil and kind of 2,200 the shells and missiles and drones here, five or six hundred there. All of a sudden it's oh here they have at it. So you know we we've frozen Iranian bank accounts >> after they after they started getting bombed by Iran.

[00:06:22]>> Yes. But it it was a big it was a big strategic >> big mistake >> failure on the financial side >> and you jumped right in >> and we we we jumped right in and uh you know they've been very good partners. We I I believe that we have seized about a billion dollars of their crypto >> and >> just outright seized it.

[00:06:41]>> Ju just outright grabbed the wallets.

[00:06:44]Some of the some of them may be like typing in right now and realize they might not have realized that their wallet had been grabbed. And we are working with our allies all over Europe to grab, you know, villas and houses and properties. And this is money that's stolen from the Iranian people. But you've you've frozen the the offshore accounts. I mean, people may not understand that the Revolutionary Guard, they own so many of the businesses.

[00:07:10]They've been stealing money from the Iranian people for decades and decades and decades. And they're all living high off the hog, you know, retirement accounts and condominiums, god knows where.

[00:07:21]>> We think they were stealing four or $500 million a month divided between 80 liters.

[00:07:26]>> Well, that can't last. I mean, they're in it. He'd be financial trouble. And that is your doing. That is your doing, sir.

[00:07:32]>> Well, it's like Woody Allen said when he talked about the mafia, it's a good margin when you consider they don't pay for paper clips.

[00:07:38]>> Okay, I got it. All right. Well, anyway, congratulations on all that. Second point I wanted to raise, and you talked at some length about it in your prepared remarks, that the economy, the industrial economy is booming despite uh gasoline prices and energy prices and the temporary effects of the war. Just some numbers. I mean, with $4 and half dollar gasoline, which I might add is coming down, uh, you're still growing. I mean, um, nearly 3% consumer growth from the latest numbers year. But the most extraordinary thing and I think this is to your point about the uh trade reciprocity in the America first and being prepared. Um non-defense capital goods, business investment is growing over the past three months alone uh at nearly 19% at an annual rate. We haven't seen numbers like that. 10 and a.5% uh year on year.

[00:08:32]That's quite remarkable. Shipments growing at 12 and a half percent, profits rising 17%, productivity at almost 3%, unit labor costs, which is the most basic in a sense inflation measure for the entire economy. Unit labor costs last four quarters 1.2%.

[00:08:50]That's why I can't get too excited about a temporary gasoline pump. I mean, in effect, the trade deficit is narrowing.

[00:08:57]These one big beautiful bill and other policies have been succeeding. It it's been fantastic and much of it is what the you all did in Trump the 1.0 tax cuts and jobs act but through you know I I see Jason Smith here that he he was working a year in advance to get the one big beautiful bill that that did did not spring up. You know I I see French Hill Jody Arrington they were all incredible in getting this across the line. I remember I went to Mike Johnson. I said, "Mike, when do you think you can get this out of the house?" And he said, "I think I can." I said, "And as one bill."

[00:09:39]And Larry, I I want to give a shout out to you because uh Dr. Cuddlo here said, "You must have it as one bill. You cannot bifurcate this because if people start picking and choosing, then it's it's the end." So Larry insisted on one bill that Mike, Speaker Johnson, if we want one bill, how do we do it? Or when can we do it? And he said, I think I could have this out by Memorial Day. I said, please. I called up Nuke Gingrich and I said, could this ever happen? And he said, it's ambitious. Okay, Mike, let's do it.

[00:10:17]And then as soon as he did that, they called Leader Thun and said, "Speaker Johnson says it's going to come out of the house by Memorial Day. You think we could have a July 4th signing?" And okay, and everybody got it done. But I I think, you know, it it just speaks to the the power of what we've done. We're never going to have to talk about a tax cut again because these are permanent.

[00:10:43]>> And and and you know, I I I just think the power of permanence and certainty and you know, knowing that you're going to be able to like this this full full expensing just levels us up against so many other countries.

[00:11:04]>> You know, business is not a dirty word.

[00:11:07]Profit's not a dirty word. The reason that consumers have the income to spend at their kitchen tables, even with this temporary gasoline bump, is the success of these policies. And I think the permanence, we've never seen investment rates like this, probably not since the Reagan recovery from the Carter recession uh 40 some odd years ago. So supply side economics is working and the America first policies are working. So kudos to you for your implementation.

[00:11:40]Kudos to the president for sticking with it. Kudos to Jason and whoever else is here. I didn't know you were here. Good to see you. Um no change in policy. The war will end. We will go back to normaly on energy.

[00:11:53]>> Look the the war will end. We'll get to the other side of this. The economy has been very resilient through all all this. Um, look, for for many families, it's not nothing, but it's been less than $200 in extra the gasoline cost. And, you know, I I I don't have it with me, but all all the Democrats want to talk about now is beef and gasoline. M >> I've got I've got a sheet that has the um 12 supermarket items. Last year was eggs >> and eggs are down 90% now. Be beef is highly idiosyncratic now because of the some dis cattle disease down in Mexico and the dynamics of the herd but chickens down the many many vegetables are down. So, you know, this groceries are actually down. You know, the uh so we'll we'll we'll see. And but I can tell you the one thing we're not going to do is what the Biden administration did where they came out and said it's a vibe session. The American people don't know how they're feeling. That was 21.5% stated CPI inflation. Uh real wages grew about 17%. So big loss in purchasing power. But our friend Jason Trenard has something the I think it's called the everyman index of the world >> common man >> common man index and that was up 35 or 38%. So that was a 15% decline 16% decline in real purchasing power and Americans felt that and the price levels have gotten elevated. It's tough to bring the price level down, but what we can do is add um we can generate real wage growth, which I think we're going to get back to as soon as we're on the other side of this Iran conflict. So, you were mentioning in your talk um we are here at this conference celebrating 250th birthday of America and looking ahead for the next couple of hundred years. I I I I can't help but ask you, are we really going to have a $250 bill with Donald Trump's picture on it?

[00:14:11]>> Well, >> the whole world is waiting.

[00:14:14]>> So, for the 150th, there was a Calvin Calvin Kulage coin.

[00:14:19]>> Oh, God, I love that. with with his with with his image on it. We are going to have a the image of President Trump on a coin and there is a proposed legislation in the House to put President Trump on the $250 bill. As Treasury Secretary, I am only mandated to do two things with the design of the currency. at present it has to be someone who is not living and it must say in God we trust and do whatever else I want.

[00:14:52]>> Uh and um look I I think that if you are the president just like Calvin Kulage was for the 150th if you're the president for the 250th President Trump should be on there. And you know for any of you who are the want to geek out in monetary theory there's something called seniorage. So we print treasury prints currency the Fed distributes it and we have about 2.5 2.6 trillion outstanding and that's a free loan. So we put currency out there and we don't have to pay any interest on it. So, with Seniorage, I I think that, you know, you you get the $250 bill. I think a lot of people are just going to put those away and hold them.

[00:15:36]>> I'm sure it'll be >> it's a good free loan.

[00:15:38]>> I'm sure the demand for it will be huge.

[00:15:41]Um the other side, I mean, we we've got a lot of optimism, I think, at this conference, and I know I'm very optimistic and the theme of going from Reagan through Trump and having you here to speak to the Trump economic policy is very, very important. The other thing I want to mention briefly uh before I get to the Fed and our new chairman is the Trump savings accounts which I think really is a gamecher. That is a major major um piece of uh legislation. I I I think that this is the most important the government benefit for young people since the GI Bill >> and 38% of Americans have no exposure to our great equity market. they don't participate in the innovation the dynamic US economy great managements many many the the managements who I see here today and for for them it is just a foreign concept >> uh so with with the Trump accounts any child born during President Trump's term they get a $1,000 seed investment from Treasury uh for these and they're going to go into lowcost index funds and um they will be able to see every day on their phone >> what what the account's doing. Uh folks with children under 18, families with children under 18 uh can open a Trump account and they can put up to $5,000 in there that'll compound taxfree until age 18. at age 18, um they can they roll it into a traditional retirement plan or take it out to start a business for education, down payment on a home. And the other thing we're seeing with these Trump accounts is that we are seeing some of our great philanthropists, Michael and Susan Dell, $6.25 billion to American children.

[00:17:38]>> Remarkable. as President Trump said when Susan when Michael made the announcement like Michael 250 million is a lot >> 6.25.

[00:17:47]So uh and that is for young people who are from the bottom 80% of the economic zip codes. So it's going to be about $250 for 80% of the American children.

[00:18:05]>> Blown a piece of the rock they never thought possible. They might even learn a little bit about capitalism and business along the way.

[00:18:11]>> Well, I I think we're creating a whole new class of shareholders. And you know, in in nutrition, there's this idea of a food desert. You don't have you don't have access to good food. I've done a lot of work on financial literacy. I push for it. And I think that there was the idea of a financial desert that you know if people don't have exposure many many of them they they can't open a Charles Schwab account or Erade or um you know any any of the other Robin Hood or any any of the others. Um, so this is going to give them an account rather than giving a a a toy for someone's birthday.

[00:18:57]You cut the price of the toy in half and give the toy and then put $20 into that account. So you you can constantly top it up.

[00:19:04]>> It's worth a lot more than a welfare check. It's worth a lot more every way you look at it.

[00:19:10]>> At Treasury went up yesterday. I would encourage all of you to go uh trumpaccounts.gov.

[00:19:17]We have five may we might be up to our six learning modules because these these are families who've never particip many many of them have never participated in the stock market before. Look, I I was a kid from South Carolina, a small town and you know I was growing up. I just knew something bad happened on Wall Street in 1929.

[00:19:37]>> Like that's what I knew about Wall Street. And now, you know, I think they're going to be able to see it on their phone. They'll sit around the dining room table. Their families will add to it. Many states are going to top these up.

[00:19:51]>> So, we've got 20 states so far that I think are going to add to these. And I I do think it is a new kind of philanthropy because now we have all these foundations. A lot of them do good work, but there's a lot of bureaucracy.

[00:20:07]They have buildings, they have boards, they have dinners. If you want to give directly to the children of America, just give to the Trump accounts.

[00:20:18]>> So, you just had breakfast with our new Fed chairman, Kevin Walsh.

[00:20:24]>> How was that?

[00:20:26]>> It was great. It it was it was President Reagan would say, it was a new day at the Fed. So we now we now have the worst Fed. The Treasury Secretary of the Fed share have lunch or breakfast every week. It's a home game and an away game.

[00:20:41]So I did the away game at the Fed. Their food's much better because they don't have a budget.

[00:20:50]They they print their own money.

[00:20:52]>> Apparently not.

[00:20:52]>> Apparently not. One hears. Uh but it is good. Look it. It's the renewal and change is good. And I think we are going to see uh a a new sheriff in town.

[00:21:07]>> I I think we are I'm I'm not going to get out ahead of the chairman, but he said he was going to get rid of forward guidance.

[00:21:14]>> So I I think I would expect >> You approve of that?

[00:21:18]>> 100%.

[00:21:19]>> 100%. And um I I also think we're going to get back to basics in terms of accountability, credibility, and look what's the purpose of the Fed because Larry for your career is longer than mine, but for a long time, the Fed just ran in the background. It it wasn't, oh, it's Fed day. It's the Fed meeting, you know, cover the press conference, you know, all all day event. all these governors out giving speeches and kind of popping off and I think we are going to see much more focus much more uh a lot more credibility and at the end of the day financial markets it's all about credibility.

[00:22:04]>> Um I noticed president said right at the beginning uh soon as uh Kevin was confirmed that he's on his own. there's really no pressure to move interest rates in one way or another that you just have to trust he's going to trust his Fed chairman. And I just wanted to be sure that that the Treasury Secretary echoed those views 100% that the that the president made the decision. I ran the process. President made the decision. I never put my the thumb on the scale for Kevin Worsh who I'd known for 20 years. I think he's an incredible choice. And the president got there for all the the right reasons and the president understands that the more credible you are the more work the financial markets will do for you.

[00:22:51]>> So no pressure at the moment.

[00:22:54]>> Look again every everyone a lot of the publication wanted to be alarmist and to the extent I had any success in my 35 year Wall Street career was usually doing the opposite of what was on the front page. And when I saw over the past couple of weeks, uh, what a terrible time to start up as the Fed chair, I was like, no, it's a great time.

[00:23:17]>> It's a great time. Interest rates have spiked. Inflation has spiked. The tough thing would have been to have come in in uh come in in February and the market was pricing in two or three rate cuts for the year. Inflation was looked like we were going to come back down to target. Growth was high. Much better to come in now. And look, you all can be the judge. I'm not saying whether it's the causation or the uh >> correlation >> correlation, but uh rates peaked the day before chair wash was sworn in.

[00:23:54]>> And also tell me if this is I I think I'm noticing during this Iranian war episode, etc. with all of the good things that are going on. Um, the dollar is actually improving and if I'm not mistaken, you yourself have been a strong advocate of maintaining the dollar as a reserve currency and I know in the first term when I served, the president was always a strong advocate to maintain the dollar as a reserve currency. Has any of that changed? Uh, >> no, nothing's changed. And again, I was in the currency market for 35 years, and I think people have the wrong notion of what a strong dollar means. Strong dollar is isn't the price on the screen every second, every minute, every day, every week. What a strong dollar means is that we are doing the right things that to set our economy on a good course that people will want to hold dollars that they feel safe and secure and that the their money will get back to them that they will have high the real returns and you know I think we've done that whether it's through trade policy tax policy or energy policy >> the United States President President Trump with his policies has made the United States the best place whether you want to be in the liquid markets or to come build your factory. You will have great certainty. You will have on tax.

[00:25:24]You will have great certainty on energy and you will have great certainty on our workforce.

[00:25:30]>> So, we appreciate all these remarks. Um the time is short. Uh I've got a TV show to do. You're going to speak with my colleague and dear friend Maria in a little while. Um I don't think the president has made a decision. I was just looking on my phone. I could be wrong, but I don't think a decision has come out. I just wanted to ask you um there's in all likelihood no ruling out of further military operations, combat operations, kinetic operations um if the Iranians continue to misbehave. There's no ruling of that out, is there?

[00:26:09]Everything we have done the since the ceasefire began has been defensive >> and um Admiral Cooper the General Kaine Secretary Heges have been very clear about that and again what's important to realize here just as in our government we have hawks doves in between they have people who that won't want to have keep up kicksotic fight and then they have people who want to settle. So you know they they are also hashing it out but there are three scenarios.

[00:26:51]>> We have the deal.

[00:26:52]>> Mhm. We don't have the deal, but we just maintain the blockade and we keep squeezing them. And you I I think every day that goes by much worse for them or we go back to kinetic action and pre President Trump, you know, Larry, I know it. He likes to create the most leverage for himself.

[00:27:15]>> You're going to keep the blockade, the financial and economic embargo going.

[00:27:20]We we'll see that it it'll be anything that's taken off is taken off slowly if and you know there'll be milestones that the Iranian regime would have to meet and I I I can tell you we we put more sanctions on yesterday. We sanctioned their their two airlines. Uh we've got some other financial targets. There's a lot more that we we can do if we have to >> and there's some things that we can take off to help the Iranian people.

[00:27:58]>> Secretary Scott Besson, good friend, thank you for your service. Thank you for your good works for America. We appreciate it very >> good. Well, thank you, Larry.