Critics Savage Scott Bessent for Saying ‘I Don’t Really Understand’ Oil Price Spike: ‘Literally Everyone Else Knows’
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was roasted online Thursday by critics after conceding he doesn’t “really understand” the spike in oil prices, prompting Fox News’ Jessica Tarlov to fire back, “Literally everyone else knows.”
Bessent’s comments came during a Thursday press gaggle, where he attempted to dismiss concerns about rising costs per barrel, telling reporters, “Anything that happens within a 24-hour period is noise.”
He continued, “Once the market understands that we are focusing on fiscal consolidation, and that we are, uh, trying to bring the market back into equilibrium, uh, in a thinly traded market, I think, uh, you know, I’m confident that bonds will continue declining. We’ve got a spike in oil prices today that I don’t really understand.”
Now, pundits on the internet didn’t seem to think Bessent’s comments provided much reassurance — if any at all. Tarlov wrote of his oil price confusion, “Literally everyone else knows,” while Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) blamed President Donald Trump’s war in Iran for the cost spike, writing, “Hint: Oil prices are very high because Trump engaged in an unconstitutional action that starts with W and ends in R.”
While the president declared that the Strait of Hormuz is a “new U.S. territory” in a Tuesday Truth Social post, reports have continued to confirm that less oil is flowing through the waterway than the Trump administration insists.
Not to mention, Iran has pushed back on the claims, with the country’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi posting on X Friday, “The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech. Iran neither fears threats nor cowers before displays of power.”
Read a sample of more reactions below:
Watch the full Bessent clip above via C-SPAN.
The post Critics Savage Scott Bessent for Saying ‘I Don’t Really Understand’ Oil Price Spike: ‘Literally Everyone Else Knows’ first appeared on Mediaite.