Bessent pushes back on Druckenmiller critique of bond intervention

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday defended the Trump administration's recent intervention in the bond market, pushing back on an eyebrow-raising critique from his investing mentor, billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller."Stan's a great investor, but what I would point out is that again, the U.S. bond market has been the best performing market since the president came in," Bessent told CNBC's Sara Eisen on the sidelines of the the Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Asheville, North Carolina.When Eisen noted that bond yields have been rising around the world, Bessent said, "Not in the U.S. They're flat since the president came in." Treasury yields have moved slightly higher since Trump took office, amid a confluence of factors including pressure from tariffs and persistent inflation.Druckenmiller in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Aug. 24 pointedly criticized as a "mistake" the Treasury's recent decision to more than double the size of its government debt repurchases. The announcement came as yields have risen to their highest levels in years. The administration's move quickly sent bond yields sharply lower, but they rebounded a day later. "You can't buy your way out of a so...