In the frenzied moments following President Donald Trump’s unexpected decision to pause sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs, one figure quickly emerged as the face of the reversal: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“This took great courage,” said Bessent, the 62-year-old former hedge fund manager, addressing a crowd of reporters on April 9. “Great courage to stay the course until now.”
Noticeably absent from the press briefing—which sparked a market rally—were Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and trade adviser Peter Navarro, the two officials originally expected to lead Trump’s tariff messaging.
Bessent’s prominent role, according to trade policy insiders, underscores a significant power shift within the White House—one that may have helped the U.S. avoid a full-blown global trade war, even as key officials remain broadly aligned with Trump’s economic vision.
“He’s the good cop,” said William Alan Reinsch, former head of the National Foreign Trade Council, in an interview with the BBC. “Lutnick and Navarro are the bad cops.”
The White House has offered few details on the lead-up to Trump’s market-shaking announcement, with the president merely stating that he had been “thinking about it” for a few days before the decision “came together” the morning of April 9.
But according to U.S. media reports, it was Bessent—under pressure from business leaders—that played a pivotal role in influencing Trump. Their discussions reportedly took place both aboard Air Force One the previous weekend and in the Oval Office on the morning of the announcement.
Earlier in his career, Bessent had voiced skepticism about tariffs. Observers believe his background in the bond market, along with those past views, helped position him as a more persuasive voice to Trump than the hardline approaches favored by Navarro and Lutnick.
“Trump wasn’t really paying attention to the bond market,” said Reinsch, now an economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Bessent got him to tune in.”
Reinsch added that Bessent’s strategy reflects a tried-and-true method for influencing Trump: “Don’t tell him he’s wrong. Tell him there’s a better path to reach his goals—and that the market isn’t reacting the way we want.”
That morning in the Oval Office, Trump met with Bessent, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, and Lutnick—who, as the former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and a staunch China hawk, had previously led the charge on tariffs.
Notably missing were two other influential voices on tariff policy. One was U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who was testifying before Congress at the time. Greer only learned of the policy shift during his hearing—alongside lawmakers—leading to a tense exchange in which he was accused of being blindsided.
Also absent was Peter Navarro, a frequent media figure on tariff policy, raising speculation that his influence on the president may be waning.
Experts said that the internal inconsistency among Trump’s advisers, combined with conflicting public statements on tariffs, has fueled market uncertainty and confusion.
