Bessent has become an architect and a chief public explainer of Trump’s second-term economic agenda. 

“Bessent has been out there making the case that the policy mix of tax cuts, deregulation, and tariffs selectively imposed are going to produce an industrial and manufacturing renaissance that will lead to higher wages and will still keep prices under control,” Antle said.

Bessent and Trump have a close personal relationship despite having no record in the first Trump administration. He’s become one of the stars of the Trump 2.0 team. He’s frequently out front in the media and is one of the more respected officials in the Trump administration when discussing and defending trade policy in the American business community. 

“A lot is riding on whether Trump and Bessent are right about how this trade policy will affect inflation, jobs, economic growth, the stock market, and overall stability of the economy,” Antle concludes.

Next in the show, Antel interviews Senior Editor of Commentary magazine Seth Mandel. The discussion focuses on Mandel’s article, “How food gets in and out of Gaza — and who gets it.” Mandel argued that the conventional wisdom often misrepresents the facts. He highlighted that 87% of United Nations food aid in Gaza fails to reach its destination due to the U.N.’s reliance on Hamas for distribution. Mandel says Hamas controls the aid system, often hoarding or selling food at inflated prices.

“They have forced Palestinians into this sort of mafia-style protection racket,” Mandel said. “A lot of Palestinians will go get food from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation or the U.N., Hamas thugs will come around and take it. If they want it back, they’ll have to go to the Hamas market and buy it back at three times the price. They’re the guys with the guns. For the most part, they’re the ones who call the shots.”

Mandel criticized the media for accepting Hamas’s claims at face value, which exaggerates the crisis and undermines non-Hamas aid efforts. 

“The world now sees the crisis because they believe the things that Hamas says, as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is not bringing in much food, and the Israelis are shooting them when they’re lining up to get the food,” Mandel said. “The world sees it as a ballooning crisis, when in fact it’s an attempt to get things under control.”

Mandel suggests Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation should collaborate to address the issue more effectively.

This week’s in-depth report on Inside Scoop looks at why CBS is sunsetting The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Andrea Ruth writes, “Things could get worse for late-night TV once Trump is gone.” For all of the talk about Trump as a “threat,” there is no denying his effect on media ratings and revenue. In 2018, Ted Koppel, formerly of Nightline, told CNN’s Brian Stelter, “CNN’s ratings would be in the toilet without Donald Trump.”

INSIDE SCOOP: SUCCEEDING YOUNGKIN, ANTI-ICE RIOTERS, TRUMP’S INFLATION NARRATIVE

Perhaps network executives see the writing on the wall. Trump provides a boost, and if late-night shows are already losing money with him in office, it could only mean a continual downward slide once he leaves office for good.

Tune in each week at washingtonexaminer.com and across all our social media platforms to go behind the headlines in the Washington Examiner’s new show, Inside Scoop.