Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent fumbled his words trying to claim President Donald Trump was joking when he threatened to “fire his a–.”
On Tuesday, appearing on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Bessent was asked by host Rebecca Quick about a remark Trump, 79, made in which he pointed at Bessent, 63, and said he would fire him if interest rates weren’t lowered.
“Well, Becky, if you were in the room, he was joking,” Bessent told Quick, stumbling over his words.
At the U.S.-Saudi investment forum on Wednesday, Nov. 19, Trump targeted Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell with his “firing” threats, claiming the 72-year-old has “mental problems” and that there is “something wrong with him.”
Although he initially called Bessent “fantastic” in his role, the president also reminded the secretary that he is not immune to his power.
“The only thing Scott is blowing it on is the Fed. The rates are too high, Scott. And if you don’t get it fixed fast, I’m going to fire your a–,” Trump said.
A White House official told the Daily Beast that the president’s remark was intended as a joke.
Since the start of his second term, Trump has attacked Powell for not lowering interest rates, though any attempt to fire him could face legal challenges. During his speech, the president also said that Bessent has been the “voice of reason” in resisting that decision.
The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by a quarter point in both September and October and will face the decision of whether to do so again in December, without key government inflation and jobs data, which have been delayed or canceled due to the longest government shutdown in history.
Bessent has previously acknowledged that the Fed is independent but has made “a lot of mistakes,” meaning he has no control over its decisions despite the president’s pressure.
Any attempt by the president to fire Powell—whom he appointed in 2017 and whose term expires in May 2026—would only be legal with sufficient cause, such as breach of duty, neglect, or inefficiency, while Bessent, as one of president’s top department chiefs, serves “at the pleasure of the president” and can be dismissed at any time.
The president’s joking rant about firing Powell and Bessent comes at a time when polls show that Americans—including Republicans—are growing frustrated with his claims about the economy. Sixty percent of respondents said Trump makes inflation and grocery prices seem better than they really are, while 77 percent said he is not spending enough time focusing on the economy.
Meanwhile, the Treasury secretary continues to argue that inflation hasn’t risen, despite data showing otherwise, and has offered unusual advice, such as moving from a blue state to a red state to lower one’s personal inflation rate.
Reacting to the video of Bessent claiming the president was joking about firing him, one user quipped: “Bessent when he eventually does get fired: ‘Wait, you weren’t joking?’”
The post Trump Goon Stumbles Claiming Trump’s ‘I’ll Fire Your A**’ Line Was Only a Joke appeared first on The Daily Beast.
