Staff Reports
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent didn’t mince words when he told reporters that “no one ever apologizes” after being proven wrong about President Trump’s tariffs — a blunt reminder that elites who scold working Americans never own their mistakes. Conservatives should relish that honesty; too often the same pundits who screamed “trade war” and “runaway inflation” walked away without a single mea culpa. It’s about time someone in the room called them out for their cartoonish predictions and partisan panic.
Bessent has consistently defended the administration’s tariff strategy as leverage to rebuild American industry, arguing the measures are meant to prompt better deals rather than to be a permanent tax on consumers. He’s pushed back against scare stories that tariffs will fuel lasting inflation, telling hosts on Sunday shows that markets simply “didn’t understand” the negotiating logic behind the policy. That posture — calm, confident, and focused on results — is the kind of leadership Washington sorely needs.
When critics warned of immediate retaliation and global economic collapse, Bessent urged a pause and patience, explaining that escalation is how trade disputes spiral and that some countries may choose to negotiate rather than retaliate. The Treasury’s message has been that snap judgments and breathless media headlines shouldn’t determine policy while deals are being cut. Americans who actually work in manufacturing and export industries understand that leverage and timing matter far more than televised outrage.
Let’s remember how many revered economists and talking heads confidently predicted catastrophe — higher inflation, frozen capital, recession — the moment tariffs were announced. Those warnings didn’t age well, and the permanent lack of accountability from the pundit class only proves Bessent’s point: the people who bet against American workers never apologize when reality proves them wrong. Conservatives should be unapologetic in pointing out that failing models and partisan fearmongering are not a substitute for real policy.
The underlying goal of these tariffs has always been to bring manufacturing and strategic supply chains back home, not to punish ordinary Americans. Bessent and other administration officials have said the levies are a negotiating tool designed to create jobs and strengthen domestic production across key sectors, from medical supplies to heavy industry. If the policy achieves even a fraction of that objective, it will have been worth the noise from the coastal elite.
The bigger story here isn’t just trade policy; it’s cultural. For years a comfortable class of economists, think-tankers, and cable anchors have gotten rich predicting doom every time America tries to assert its interests. They demand deference when they’re right, but when they’re proven wrong they move on to the next headline with zero contrition. Bessent calling that out is a breath of fresh air for every hardworking American who’s tired of being lectured by people with no skin in the game.
Patriots should take Bessent’s words as an invitation to hold the elite accountable and to back policies that put Americans first. Demand results, not panic, and insist the media and experts start paying the political price for bad prognostications. If tariffs, properly used, mean more factories hiring and more paychecks delivered to American families, then conservatives should stand proud and push for the full vindication of that common-sense approach.
