Maxwell Tani of Semafor writes about the tense relationship between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant and the financial media that cover him.
Tani writes, “But his rift with Bloomberg is part of a tense and distant relationship between the powerful Cabinet secretary and the press corps that covers him, which includes both high-profile finance reporters and the typically lower-key in-house Treasury press. As high interest rates remain front-page news — and so-called bond vigilantes test Treasury’s credibility — critical headlines in financial and business publications have frustrated a secretary who didn’t spend his career seeking the public eye, and doesn’t seem to think all those who cover him are up to the job.
“In public over the last several weeks, Bessent has railed against the Financial Times for reporting that he had discussed tightening Treasury’s oversight of the Federal Reserve by adopting elements of the Bank of England’s model, describing the story as ‘tabloid trash for market participants’ and calling the reporters ‘pathetic’ and ‘mendacious.’
“He’s called out Nick Timiraos, the Journal’s well-regarded chief economic correspondent, dubbing him one of the ‘stenographers posing as journalists’ over what Bessent characterized as weak reporting on monetary policy.”
Read more here.
