Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said in an interview on the “meeting” of the NBC News press according to which Moody’s notes were an “train indicator” after the group degraded the United States credit rating of a highest level.
“I think Moody’s is a late indicator,” said Bessent on Sunday. “I think that’s what everyone thinks of credit agencies.”
The Moody’s notes said last week that the demotion of the AAA to AA1 “reflects the increase of more than a decade of public debt ratios and payment of interest at levels which are much higher than the sovereigns noted in a similar way.”
The Secretary of the Treasury said that the demotion was linked to the spending policies of the Biden administration, which the administration had presented as investments in priorities, in particular the fight against climate change and the increase in health care coverage.
“Just as Sean Duffy said with our air traffic control system, we have not arrived here in the last 100 days,” said Bessent, referring to the Secretary of Transport. “This is the Biden administration and the expenses we have seen in the past four years.”
The United States has 36.22 billions of dollars in national debt, according to the Treasury department. He began to grow regularly in the 1980s and continued to increase during the first term of President Donald Trump and to the administration of President Joe Biden.
Bessent also told the moderator Kristen Welker that he had spoken on the phone with the CEO of Walmart, Doug McMillon, who, according to the secretary of the Treasury, told him that the retail giant “would eat some of the prices, just as they did in ’18, ’19 and ’20”.
Walmart’s financial director John David Rainey previously told CNBC that Walmart would absorb certain higher costs related to prices. The financial director had also told CNBC separately that he was “worried” that consumers “would begin to see higher prices”, pointing prices.
Trump said in an article in Truth Social last week that Walmart should “eat prices”. Walmart replied, saying that the company had “always worked to maintain our prices as low as possible and that we will not stop”.
“We will keep the prices as low as possible as long as possible, the reality of small retail margins,” continued the press release.
Asked about his conversation, Bessent denied having put pressure on Walmart to “eat the prices”, noting that he and the CEO “have a very good relationship”.
“I just wanted to hear him from him, rather than the second, third of the press,” said Bessent.
McMillon said that the call for Walmart’s profits that prices had put on prices. Bessent argued that companies “should give the worst case” on calls.
The White House said that the countries were approaching the administration to negotiate on the prices. The administration has also announced trade agreements with the United Kingdom and China.
Bessent said on Sunday that he thought that countries that do not negotiate in good faith would see the tasks return to the prices announced the day the administration unveiled prices in mind.
“The negotiation lever effect of which President Trump speaks here is if you do not want to negotiate, so he will come back at April 2,” said Bessent.
Bessent was also asked about Trump saying that the administration would accept a luxury jet from Qatar to be used as Air Force One, exasperating Democrats and also attracting criticism from certain Republicans.
The secretary of the Treasury called questions about the gift of $ 400 million a “out of ramp so that many in the media do not recognize what it was an incredible journey”, referring to the investment commitments that the president received during his trip last week in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
“If we return to your initial question on the demotion of Moody, who cares about it? Qatar does not do so. Saudi does not. The water does not do it,” he said. “They all push money.”
When he was asked for his response to those who argue that the jet sends a message that the countries can promote the United States by sending gifts, Bessent said that “gifts are to the American people”, pointing investment agreements that were revealed during the Trump Middle East trip.
Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Criticized Bessent’s comments on the demotion of credit, saying in a separate interview on “Meet the Press”: “I heard the secretary of the Treasury to say:” Who cares about the demotion of our Credit Credit of Moody’s? “It’s a big problem.
“This means that we will probably head for a recession. It probably means higher interest rates for anyone who tries to start a business or buy a house,” he continued. “These guys manage the economy recklessly because all that supports them is the health of the billionaire class of Mar-A-Lago.”
