Five Questions for Trump Adviser Scott Bessent

I made the decision to come out from behind my desk because, when we talk about the future, I think we have two very different choices. This election cycle is the last chance for the US to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy. We have historically tended to run fairly steady levels of government tax revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product and expenditures at around 20%. Now we’re bumping up around 23%. One of the reasons that I became an unofficial adviser and spokesman for the Trump campaign is because I think it’s now or never.

One of the biggest misapprehensions about Donald Trump is that he’s going to be profligate. He said to me, “Scott, what are we going to do about the debt and deficits? How are we going to get those under control without causing a recession?” I said it’s not going to be easy. Cut the deficit to 3% by 2028; achieve 3% real economic growth, largely through deregulation; and then add 3 million new barrels of energy per day. If we increase production by 15%, we could bring prices down and become energy dominant.