Scott Bessent stood out at the Davos Forum, where his image and influence drew the attention of a global audience and financial markets.<\/p>\n
During one of the press conferences at the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps, the U.S. Treasury Secretary called Denmark \u201cinsignificant\u201d in light of President Donald Trump\u2019s demand to sell Greenland. He also mocked California Governor Gavin Newsom, who was in Davos, calling Bessent \u201cPatrick Bateman meets Ken Sparkle-Beach\u201d.<\/p>\n
Bessent supported Trump\u2019s push to acquire Greenland during his appearance on CNBC, stating that control of Greenland is important for national security. He also accused Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell of \u201ctrying to put a finger on the scale\u201d by participating in the Supreme Court hearing on attempts to dismiss Fed Governor Lisa Cook, although Bessent himself attended tariff-related hearings at the Supreme Court last autumn.<\/p>\n
During a panel discussion with a Fox News host, he addressed European officials \u2013 and perhaps even more importantly, investors \u2013 with the view: there is no need to overreact to threats to use tariffs to force Greenland\u2019s sale.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would tell everyone: sit down, take a deep breath \u2013 don\u2019t respond\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Scott Bessent<\/p>\n
In Davos: Scott Bessent\u2019s dual role<\/p>\n
Bessent demonstrated two key roles: on the one hand, publicly defending the administration and its political impulses, and on the other \u2013 as a bridge between Washington and Wall Street, trying to ease pressure on world markets as Trump makes decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe sees markets and their stability as a huge part of his job,\u201d says a source familiar with his thinking. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t want the administration to do anything that could disrupt markets and complicate his task.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet on Wall Street, Bessent was previously viewed as the decisive voice in calming investors, even if the latest controversy around the Greenland tariff left a lasting impression.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used to say, Trump can\u2019t be stopped. The best we can hope for is to contain him. And that is Bessent\u2019s job\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Art Hogan<\/p>\n
The tone of the forum reflected a shift in the Treasury\u2019s approach: from stabilizing to actively shaping a \u201cTrump model\u201d on the world stage, where economic decisions are seen as responses to external challenges.<\/p>\n
Bessent remained a neutral figure in selecting candidates for the Fed chair, emphasizing that his job is to maintain a balance between policy and markets, not to push a specific candidate.<\/p>\n
European diplomats and business leaders called him one of the most important figures at the forum, as it was he who conveyed the American position and tried to reduce uncertainty about future tariffs and global market fluctuations.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough talk about policy; what matters are actions that lessen the depth of market panic\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Jeffrey Sonnenfeld<\/p>\n
Although the business community did not always agree with Bessent\u2019s public statements, private messages indicated a strong sense of trust and influence on the administration\u2019s decisions regarding markets and the economy.<\/p>\n
According to officials, during the forum his image and influence grew, underscoring the significance of his role in shaping American economic policy in the face of global challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cSecretary Bessent did a phenomenal job on behalf of President Trump; there is no one better, smarter, or more qualified for this role\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Caroline Livit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scott Bessent stood out at the Davos Forum, where his image and influence drew the attention of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[138,145273,219,9484,145274,111,43,139,69,11385,145272,7677,5078,143893],"class_list":{"0":"post-249843","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-davos-forum-2026","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-global-markets","12":"tag-greenland-purchase","13":"tag-new-zealand","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nz","17":"tag-scott-bessent","18":"tag-scott-bessent-davos-forum-2026-us-economic-policy-greenland-purchase-trump-administration-global-markets-tariffs","19":"tag-tariffs","20":"tag-trump-administration","21":"tag-us-economic-policy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}