Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested people should stop giving kids toys for birthdays and holidays.
The president’s top economic adviser, worth more than $500 million, said instead they should put money into so-called “Trump Accounts.”
Bessent made the out-of-touch comment as millions of American families already struggle to cover their everyday necessities, with the U.S. cost of living remaining high.
The treasury secretary said relatives “rather than giving a toy for a birthday or holiday, they can contribute to these accounts.”
He went on to claim he believes it will lead to a substantial drop in people playing the lottery, “because you won the lottery. You got $1,000 and the power of compound interest.”
Bessent made the comment to Fox News while promoting the accounts, which are a pilot program to deposit $1,000 into tax-advantaged accounts for children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028.
Parents can then contribute as much as $5,000 a year, while employers can contribute up to $2,500 a year.
The president is set to tout the program and urge families to sign up for the accounts on Wednesday at a summit in Washington, DC, as tax filing season begins.
It is one of the more prominent programs created during the second Trump term to help close the wealth gap and better set American families up for future success, which has even received some bipartisan praise, if not for the name.
But Bessent and Trump have repeatedly struggled to promote policies without coming across as tone deaf when it comes to already struggling American families.
Just last week, the multimillionaire treasury secretary faced a backlash for casually suggesting average retirees own as many as a dozen homes.
“We are going to give guidance at some point to see what a mom and pop is,” Bessent said. “Someone, maybe your parents, for their retirement have bought 5, 10, 12 homes.”
Last spring, Trump turned heads amid growing concerns of a trade war by suggesting kids would be okay with “2 dolls instead of 30″ as consumers prepared for tariffs to drive up prices.
Last month, he also rambled about not buying daughters “37 dolls” and kids not needing “37 pencils” during a speech that was supposed to be about affordability in Pennsylvania.
When it comes to the “Trump Accounts,” the program could be a tool for building wealth for American families, experts agree.
However, as the Urban Institute pointed out, unlike other successful savings programs, the accounts are starting on the open market, which poses greater risks for investment gains.
It also noted that many lower-income families do not have the same income available to invest in such accounts as wealthier families would annually, so the program could disproportionately benefit wealthier families.
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