US treasury secretary claimed he didn't know why oil prices spiked – the reaction was as you might expect | indy100

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US treasury secretary Scott Bessent has sparked backlash after suggesting he couldn’t understand why oil prices have spiked.

Speaking to members of the media at the White House on Thursday (20 August) ahead of Melania Trump’s event promoting a foster care initiative, Bessent appeared to suggest he doesn’t “understand” why oil prices have spiked.

In February, US president Trump launched the US into a war with Iran without congressional approval. Ever since, dispute over the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping channel has caused the price of oil and other goods to surge. The war, which has killed 18 US service members and thousands of people in the Middle East, continues to rumble on today.

“We’ve got a spike in oil prices today that I don’t really understand,” Bessent said, and suggested, “anything that happens within a 24-hour period is noise”.

On social media, people didn’t hesitate to point him in the right direction.

“I understand why, Scott. Your boss started a dumb war with no plan, and Americans are paying for it,” someone argued.

Another suggested: “That’s weird, because the rest of us understand it perfectly.”

Someone else wrote: “Probably because your stupid President got us in a stupid war, Scott.”

Another account mocked: “It's a real mystery.”

Someone else posted a quote, writing: “‘It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.’ - Upton Sinclair.”

“This gibbering idiot took the best economy in the world and managed to set it on course for a depression. He doesn’t ‘really understand’ anything. It’s incredible that he had a career before this,” another argued.

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