(Zero Hedge)—On one side, Elon Musk and RFK Jr. are pushing for Howard Lutnick, with Musk praising the Cantor FItzgerald CEO as a disruptor compared to Key Square Group (and George Soros protégé) Scott Bessent – the latter of whom met with Trump on Friday, and has the backing of many including noted investor Kyle Bass.
“Scott Bessent is eminently more qualified than Howard Lutnick to run the U.S. Treasury,” said Bass in a Wednesday post on X. “Scott understands markets, economics, people, and geopolitics better than anyone I’ve ever interacted with. Markets have already anticipated a Bessent choice. Lutnick is not Trump’s answer.”
In response, RFK Jr. suggested that Lutnick – who is currently working as co-chair of Trump’s transition team, would be a strong advocate for Bitcoin – which he described as “a hedge against inflation for middle class Americans,a remedy against the dollar’s downgrade from the world’s reserve currency, and the offramp from a ruinous national debt.”
Bitcoin is the currency of freedom , a hedge against inflation for middle class Americans,a remedy against the dollar’s downgrade from the world’s reserve currency, and the offramp from a ruinous national debt. Bitcoin will have no stronger advocate than Howard Lutnik.
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) November 16, 2024
Musk suggested more people weigh in on the decision, but said he views Bessent as “a business-as-usual choice,” while Lutnick “will actually enact change.”
Would be interesting to hear more people weigh in on this for @realDonaldTrump to consider feedback.
My view fwiw is that Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change.
Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we need change… https://t.co/igGLZOJ8wz
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 16, 2024
According to Bloomberg, the choice is ‘creating tension and increasing the chance that another candidate rises up,’ citing anonymous people familiar with the decision making.
Trump himself has appeared frustrated with the infighting and staff are looking for alternatives, with Robert Lighthizer, Senator William Hagerty and Apollo Global Management Inc. Chief Executive Officer Marc Rowan among the names in the mix.
Lutnick was a key support to Trump’s fundraising in the final months of the campaign and he has helped lead the team’s transition to the presidency. Because of that, some key advisers are looking at what else Lutnick might take — if not Treasury — such as a plum ambassadorship, according to people familiar with the decision. –Bloomberg
That said, Lutnick previously donated to both Hillary Clinton in 2015 and Kamala Harris’ Senate campaign in 2016, among others.
Ultimately, the choice is up to Trump – who hasn’t shared his opinion in public.
JD’s manually curated links for God-fearing MAGA patriots
Bitcoin is not the currency of freedom.
Oil, Gold and silver are.
David wasn’t qualified to fight against Goliath either.
What We the People don’t need is a George Soros plant.
It coin is not the currency of freedom.
A debt-free populace, Oil, Gold, and Silver are.
Bitcoin is not the currency of freedom.
A debt-free populace, oil, gold, and silver are.
Crypto is the next Scamdemic. The plan for it has always been a bait-n-switch. As soon as society mainlines crypto, government will seize control of it and then be able to track (and prohibit) any transaction. It is goddamn Orwellian, people! Returning to a gold standard is also dumb because it is deflationary, not merely anti-inflationary. It cannot keep up with and therefore stifles accelerative economic forces. We do NOT want to return to the stagnant, have vs. have-not days of Mercantilism! Thus, the US money supply should remain hyridized and fiat as it currently is, but with a few tweaks. (1) Eliminate the FED. Stop their massive theft-by-saturation. (2) Allow, no, REQUIRE the Treasury to print more (or destroy) paper currency annually at a rate of, say, double the most recently measured GDP growth/decline rate. (3) Require all ledgers to be supported by actual paper printed. No, I don’t own stock in vault companies, ha! More digital wealth has been stolen in the last 20 years than has all physical wealth in history (maybe not counting war spoils).
Of this I’m certain: Bass is the typical neocon. Trump must not listen to any of the neocons. I see no devious agenda followed by either Kennedy OR Musk.
Please President, be ever vigilant when knowing that it was the neocon clique that supported destabilizing you at every turn during your presidency.