Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed back against CBS journalist Margaret Brennan on Sunday when questioned about whether President Donald Trump’s tariffs could fuel inflation.

In a “Face the Nation” interview, Brennan insisted “the reality is there will either be less inventory or things at higher prices, or both.” But the secretary fired back and referenced a previous conversation the two of them had in March, days before Trump unleashed his “Liberation Day” tariffs.

“Margaret, when we were here in March, you said there was going to be big inflation. There hasn’t been any inflation,” Bessent said. “Actually, the inflation numbers are the best in four years. So why don’t we stop trying to say this could happen, and wait and see what does happen.”

.@SecScottBessent: "When we were here in March, you said there was going to be big inflation. There hasn't been any inflation. Actually, the inflation numbers are the best in four years. So why don't we stop trying to say this COULD happen — wait and see what DOES happen." 🔥 pic.twitter.com/1LeTZf2UX1

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 1, 2025

Earlier in the interview, Brennan reminded Bessent that during his March appearance on the program, they had discussed trying to assess how the tariffs might impact American consumers. She then pressed the Treasury Secretary on where he expects to see price increases.

“We wanted to make sure that there aren’t price increases, Margaret. And thus far, there have been no price increases. Everything has been alarmist,” Bessent said, adding that the “inflation numbers are actually dropping.”

A few weeks ago, the Labor Department reported that inflation had dropped to 2.3%—its lowest level in four years—as President Trump continues to pursue trade agreements with China and other nations affected by his tariff policies.

Brennan questioned Bessent about retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, and Target increasing prices. In reply, Bessent pointed out that other companies, such as Home Depot and Amazon, have taken a different approach.

And he pointed out, “I know what the South China Morning Post wrote within the past 24 hours that 65% — 65%! — of the tariffs will likely be eaten by the Chinese producers.”

“So are there five or eight areas that you have identified, as you said back in March, where American consumers will be able to have lower prices, or should be warned of higher prices?” Brennan asked.

“Well, a lot of it’s already working its way through the system,” Bressent replied. “So we’ve seen a substantial decrease in gasoline and energy prices. So that’s down 20% year over year. We’ve seen the food prices go down, these notorious egg prices. Through the good work of President Trump and [Agriculture] Secretary [Brooke] Rollins, egg prices have collapsed. So we’re seeing more and more.”

He added: “And what we want to do is even that out across all sections of the economy. So inflation has been very tame. Consumer earnings were up 0.8% last month, which is a gigantic increase for one month. So real earnings minus low inflation is great for the American people, and that’s what we’re seeing.”