When it comes to President Donald Trump’s steep new tariffs, two of the top officials in his administration — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick — have very different approaches. Lutnick is a strident cheerleader for the tariffs, while Bessent defends them but often sounds uncomfortable and awkward doing so.
The Dispatch’s Jonah Goldberg, a non-MAGA traditional conservative, described the contrasts between Bessent and Lutnick during a Friday night, June 6 appearance on political comedian Bill Maher’s HBO show “Real Time.”
Goldberg, formerly of the National Review, told Maher and MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle — who was also appearing as a guest — “Howard Lutnick is what social scientists call a moron. And he has a thumbless grasp of international trade.”
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When Goldberg said that Bessent “understands these things,” Ruhle interjected, “Deeply.” And Maher noted that Lutnick’s detractors call him “Nutlick.”
Goldberg argued, “The problem with Bessent is: He’s actually a smart guy who knows some things, but he’s like one of the last Trump first administration gatekeeper types who try to keep Trump on the straight and narrow. Howard Lutnick is just a total sycophant and completely economically illiterate. And so, Bessent, gets stuck in these situations where he is trying to polish t—- day after day, and it’s really, really hard.”
The conservative journalist argued that Trump and Lutnick fail to understand that the “only reason why” the United States has a trade deficit with Canada is because Canada “sells us oil at below-market prices.”
Goldberg told Maher and Ruhle, “We get a deal (from Canada)…. Great deal. That’s the kind of deal you’d think Trump would like. But Trump does not understand trade deficits…. Trump just doesn’t understand how trade actually works.”
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