Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discusses the August jobs report, construction and manufacturing, Operation Economic Outcast, China and more on 'My View with Lara Trump.' #fox #foxnews #media #breakingnews #us #usa #new #news #breaking #laratrump #trump #myviewwithlaratrump #scottbessent #bessent #iran #china #economy #jobs #jobsreport #manufacturing #construction #sanctions #foreignpolicy #middleeast #geopolitics
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What Scott Bessent said
Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.
Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury Secretary, argued that the Strait of Hormuz will be irrelevant to the oil industry within two years due to alternative pipelines being built by Gulf nations, and dismissed Iran's ability to choke off oil flows. He cited wage growth data (25% of earners up 4.7%, median 3.7%) against 3.5% headline inflation, claiming Americans are breaking even. Bessent detailed Operation Economic Outcast, a blockade and sanctions campaign he called the greatest economic isolation effort in history, noting only 30 million barrels of Iranian oil remain unsold to China. He linked economic and national security, advocating de-risking from China, citing 98% of precursor chemicals for U.S. medicines coming from overseas. On Canada, he dismissed tariff impacts as negligible. He promoted U.S. energy self-sufficiency, predicting 80% of global AI computing power by 2026, and brought private companies like Goldman Sachs and Eli Lilly to the G20.
Key takeaways
Strait of Hormuz will be irrelevant to oil industry within two years due to alternative pipelines.
Operation Economic Outcast is the greatest economic isolation operation in history, with blockade and sanctions working.
Only 30 million barrels of Iranian oil remain unsold to China; will run out soon.
U.S. will have 80% of global AI computing power in 2026, up from 50% in 2025.
Oil prices could fall to $40 or $50 per barrel once energy supply shock ends.
0:09And I'm wondering, from the perspective of Treasury Secretary, what your message is to the American people?
2:41They are still taking oil from Iran, so how do you navigate that situation?
4:03Did you ever imagine as Treasury Secretary what a major role you would play in the national security of our country?
6:39What was the key message you wanted counterparts to take away as it relates to America and our economy?
8:18That's an important factor. How do you see that?
9:11What are your predictions for the future, and maybe you can build on what you just said and what message you ultimately send to the American people as they go to vote in November?
With global headlines having a ripple effect on the economy, yesterday's job numbers were a breath of fresh air: 162,000 jobs added in August. And now the President is calling to lower interest rates and stop trading with countries with which we have a deficit. It's bold decision-making after years of American leaders sitting idly by while the rest of the world took advantage of our country. We now know free trade does not mean fair trade, and it's not just China or countries on the other side of the world that are still trying to tip the scales, but those in our backyard like Canada. Thankfully, President Trump has said enough is enough. I sat down with one of the key economic decision-makers in the Trump administration, Secretary Scott Bessent, to talk about what happens next. You have said you think in two years the Strait of Hormuz will be irrelevant to the oil industry, so I want to get you to expand on that a little bit. And I'm wondering, from the perspective of Treasury Secretary, what your message is to the American people? Obviously, this war is being felt here at home, and a lot of people are looking to the administration for a solution.
The oil-producing nations of the Gulf are building alternative pipelines that will no longer entail going through the Strait of Hormuz. And the Iranian chokehold, to the extent they have one—and I can tell you they do not have one—to the extent that they can go to their neighbors, once we leave, will not exist anymore. Affordability has two components: inflation and wages. 25% of wage earners over the past year are at a 4.7% increase, and the median has been 3.7%. Because of the elevated energy prices, we are at a headline inflation rate of about 3.5%. Americans on average are breaking even, and working-class Americans at the bottom of the wage spectrum are doing a little better. We believe that's acceptable, but the good news is wage increases are going to keep going. We have a manufacturing and construction renaissance. This war will end, and those will turn into real wages.
To stay with the Strait of Hormuz for a minute, you know, did you say the U.S. and China have more in common than we disagree on when it comes to safely navigating the Strait of Hormuz? I think the question for a lot of Americans is, how much can we trust China? They are still taking oil from Iran, so how do you navigate that situation?
One of the things we have done, what the President has done, is fantastic sequencing. We are running Operation Economic Outcast right now. This is the greatest economic isolation operation in the history of the world. We are going to asphyxiate this regime. Now we have a blockade, and because of the blockade, the oil is not getting out. There's probably only 30 million barrels of Iranian oil left that China has not bought. That will run out soon, and there will be no problem with China. The blockade is working. It's working like nothing they have ever seen. Everyone says sanctions don't work. I can tell you blockade and sanctions are one of the most powerful one-two punches in the history of economic isolation.
I think that's been part of the problem with past administrations, that we have separated economic security from national security. But I came into office saying economic security is national security, and national security is economic security. Under the President's leadership, a group of us are running as hard as we can over the next two years to take away leverage that our adversaries might have against us. And to your question on China: we don't want to decouple from China, we've got to de-risk. We're bringing semiconductors back here because there's a big choke point there. 98% of the precursor chemicals that go into U.S. medicines come from overseas, largely from China. It's just these things that over the years we just didn't pay attention to strategically. Critical minerals—the U.S. used to control critical minerals, and the Chinese try to use it like a choke collar. In a couple of years, it won't matter because we will be self-sufficient with our allies.
I want to talk about our neighbors to the north, Canada. President Trump offered Prime Minister Carney what he used as a highly favorable trade agreement that Carney blew up at the last minute. Canada is expected to impose retaliatory tariffs.
7 more exchanges in this transcript
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Bessent, S. (2026, September 6). Bessent issues BOLD prediction on Iran war [Interview transcript]. Fox News. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1312211/
MLA
Scott Bessent. "Bessent issues BOLD prediction on Iran war." Fox News, 6 Sep. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1312211/.
BibTeX
@misc{bessent2026_1312211,
author = {Scott Bessent},
title = {Bessent issues BOLD prediction on Iran war},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, Fox News. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {sep},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1312211/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
