Bessent Tells NBC 'We Will Own the Economy,' Blames Energy Shock

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told NBC’s Kristen Welker on Sunday that the Trump administration “will own the economy,” while blaming this fall’s rise in prices on an energy shock tied to the conflict with Iran, according to NBC’s transcript of “Meet the Press.”

Welker opened by citing September’s consumer price report, which she said showed prices rising at the fastest pace in five months, to 3.7%, and asked whether President Trump’s policies were driving inflation. “Kristen, we have an energy shock,” Bessent answered, according to the transcript. He argued that core inflation had been down four months in a row before this month, that food was below the Federal Reserve’s targets and that rents were down, adding, “We will get to the other side of the Iran conflict, and those prices will come down.”

.@SecScottBessent: "This is an energy shock; we'll get to the other side of the Iran conflict and those prices will come down." pic.twitter.com/aTOSPpbwT1

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 18, 2026

Welker countered that core inflation leaves out food and energy and said gas prices are up 44% since the war with Iran began, according to the transcript. Bessent then pointed to the Biden years. “Why don’t we revisit the Biden-era policies where the American people got smoked? 21.5% inflation and only about 17% wage increases,” he said, adding that Americans have seen real wage gains of 1.5% under Trump, a figure he said the administration is not satisfied with.

‘636 days’

Welker pressed him on the timeline. “I hear you blaming President Biden, but President Trump has been in office now for 636 days,” she said, noting that inflation was 3% when Trump took office and is 3.7% now, according to the transcript and Mediaite. “Well, we will own the economy,” Bessent replied, before citing a million private-sector jobs this year, record employment and record household net worth, according to both outlets. Those figures are Bessent’s claims. Asked whether gas prices would fall by the new year, he said that depends on how the Iran conflict plays out, according to NBC.

Bessent: Europe is funding Putin

On Russia, Welker asked why Trump signed an order waiving sanctions that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called a big support for Vladimir Putin. Bessent said the law gives the president 60 days to assess the situation and turned the question toward Europe. “The Europeans have given Russia and Vladimir Putin more money than they’ve given the Ukrainians. They continue to gorge on Russian energy,” he said, according to the transcript and a clip posted by the White House Rapid Response account on X. He said 136 of 140 cargoes that left Russia’s Yamal facility in the first six months of the year went to Europe, worth more than $8 billion, and questioned why the U.S. should bear the burden alone.

Bessent also disputed the premise that sanctions were eased, insisting to Welker that no sanctions were lifted on Friday, according to NBC, adding that the only thing lifted was the diesel embargo and that the U.K. waived its own embargo on diesel and jet fuel made with Russian crude in May. He said Trump’s sanctions on Russian energy giants Rosneft and Lukoil had dealt a severe blow to the Russian energy industry.

Asked about Zelenskyy’s claim that the U.S. government slowed Ukraine’s Starlink service, Bessent said top administration officials have categorically denied that anyone in the administration did that, and called the charge “very reckless,” according to the transcript. Pressed repeatedly on whether Ukraine is a U.S. ally, Bessent listed the support the U.S. provides but declined to give a direct answer, saying that question was for the president and the secretary of state.

The interview comes 16 days before the midterm elections, as Welker noted on the program.

Sources

• NBC News: Meet the Press transcript, Oct. 18, 2026
• Mediaite
• White House Rapid Response on X
• White House Rapid Response on X

Reporting by Daily Beltway.