Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent touted President Donald Trump’s economic record Wednesday night at the Republican National Midterm Convention while issuing a stark warning about what he says Democrats would do if given control of Congress.
Looking to the future, Bessent said that in order to honor the first 250 years of the United States, Americans must “meet the obligations of the next.”
“Our obligation begins by making this country work again for the very people who sustain it,” Bessent said.
The Treasury secretary went on to highlight what he described as some of Trump’s biggest economic accomplishments.
“He signed the largest tax cuts in history, rebalanced trade in favor of our working families, and reclaimed our position as the world’s energy superpower,” said the Treasury secretary.
Bessent also emphasized Trump Accounts, tax-advantaged investment accounts for children that include a $1,000 federal contribution for eligible newborn U.S. citizens.
“Where his predecessors created debt and dependency, this president is creating assets and expanding ownership through Trump Accounts, the most transformative program for young people since the GI Bill.”
He then contrasted the Trump administration with former President Joe Biden’s, pointing to high inflation, problems at the southern border, declining domestic energy production, and overregulation as problems he says Trump has worked to reverse.
“President Trump has turned this country around once before and he’s doing it again. What a difference a new president can make,” Bessent said.
After touting the administration’s economic gains, Bessent shifted his focus to the November midterms, warning about what he described as the radical left’s goal to “remake America in the image of every socialist hellscape of the last century.”
The treasury secretary argued that if Democrats gain power, they would undo Trump’s economic policies, raise taxes, and expand government programs.
“If given power, the first thing they’ll do is dismantle the gains we’ve made under President Trump,” Bessent said. “They’ll claim to tax the rich while they raid the pockets of the middle class.”
Bessent closed his speech by urging Republicans to show up in November and continue the work started under Trump.
“We’ve come a long way under President Trump. Now it falls on us to show up when it matters the most to continue this fight.”
