The Supreme Court has ruled that former President Donald Trump has some immunity from criminal charges related to his attempts to reverse the results of the 2020 election. As the 2024 election draws near, Key Square Group LP Founder, CEO, and CIO Scott Bessent joins Catalysts to discuss what a second Trump term would look like.

Bessent — a Trump supporter and former CIO of Soros Fund Management — explains that one of Trump's biggest economic policies is tariffs, which Wall Street believes are bad for the economy as it would stoke inflation.

"I think they were wrong in Trump 1.0. I think they'll be wrong in Trump 2.0," Bessent says. He adds, " My inclination is that when we hear 60% tariffs on China, that's the beginning of a maximalist negotiating position. That's the way President Trump negotiates. I would be surprised if we ever hit that. But I think given his record in Trump, 1.0, he has a lot of credibility in using tariffs to negotiate."

While some argue that Trump's agenda on immigration would also be inflationary as it would raise labor costs, Bessent states, "the 8 million job openings are not the people who are pouring across the border every day. They're not going into jobs at Microsoft (MSFT) and senior management. So I think that that's not right."

Bessent is in consideration for the position of Treasury Secretary if Trump gets reelected. He explains that despite disagreeing with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's strategy to curb inflation, he would not fire him: "I think Jerome Powell has done an extremely poor job, but I don't think it's to anybody's advantage to fire him. I think that his term will run out. I think that he will be replaced." He notes that both President Biden and former President Trump want to see lower interest rates.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts.

This post was written by Melanie Riehl