President Donald Trump’s team continues to maintain their relentlessly rosy outlook for the near future in the United States, no matter the increasingly desperate tolls from the Coronavirus pandemic. This weekend on CNN, Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow even tried to defend his insistence earlier in the year that the virus was “contained.” Under no reasonable guideline was the virus contained, but this weekend, he insisted that his “quote then was based on the actual facts… and it was contained” — which is just not true by any stretch of the imagination, no matter Kudlow’s attempt to laser focus on the few supposedly great economic indicators.
Kudlow continues to say this and it continues to make no sense at all. https://t.co/2HuoZDNJIE
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) May 3, 2020
Asked if there was a “disconnect” between those pushing for economic recovery and those pushing for a public health recovery, Kudlow insisted:
‘My quote then was based on the actual facts, which at the time, there were only 40 or 50 cases, and it was contained, particularly after President Trump boldly put up travel restrictions with China… Yes, some doctors were more fearful, other doctors had many different things to say. I don’t want to play this game of who said what and when… I think this sort of ankle-biting that is going on in Washington is just incorrect… We did what we had to do as soon as the situation became much clearer.’
Watch below:
Larry Kudlow speaks to his previous statement that "we have contained" coronavirus: "My quote was at that time, there were very few cases. Then, as the virus spread exponentially in ways that virtually no one could have predicted, of course, we changed our mind" #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/EhIyZaVZZ5
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) May 3, 2020
Kudlow’s insistence that the Trump administration acted swiftly and effectively is incorrect. Well over 1.1 million Coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the U.S., and one set of supposedly great travel restrictions that still allowed tens of thousands of flights from China after their implementation was far from enough to avert the crisis.
400k+ flew from China before the US became the 39th country to impose travel restrictions. 40k+ came after. Since CV was already here and the fact that the US now leads in cases and is 3rd in deaths makes Trump’s claim of early decisive action meaningless. https://t.co/nQj5Bq3thg
— Rick Tyler-Still Right (@rickwtyler) April 7, 2020
This weekend, as other Trump advisers have done before, Kudlow also insisted that the U.S. economy was poised for a quick rebound following the economic upheaval of the social distancing measures enacted in attempts to stem the spread of the Coronavirus.
My latest: Cafes, restaurants and kids' art studios have already permanently shuttered in San Francisco, and more beloved businesses will follow suit. It was already too hard to run a small business in SF, and the #coronavirus will be the death of many. https://t.co/lNhsy52GUi
— Heather Knight (@hknightsf) May 2, 2020
Kudlow told CNN host Jake Tapper:
‘From our perspective too, Jake, look – we know the economy is still in a terrible contractionary phase. Tremendous hardships everywhere; that’s why we’ve put up several rescue packages led by President Trump and with the bipartisan support of the Congress. So, we are working through that, and it’s going to be very difficult in the months ahead, no question. Having said that, I will note that the Congressional Budget Office and a bunch of private forecasters — Wall Street Journal surveys and so forth — are looking for a very strong second-half economic rebound and suggesting that 2021 next year could be one of the fastest growth rebounds in American history or recent history.’
Watch below:
WH economic adviser Larry Kudlow claims the Congressional Budget Office and forecasters "are looking for a very strong second-half economic rebound and suggesting that 2021 next year could be one of the fastest growth rebounds in American history or recent history" #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/7yrguiF20s
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) May 3, 2020
Where is the evidence for this? The financial services organization S&P has reported that getting back to pre-Coronavirus levels in the job market could take years after the virus passes. Amidst the economic crisis accompanying the public health crisis of the pandemic, thousands and thousands of businesses may never reopen at all. In the San Francisco Bay area alone, a local restaurant association suggested that half of local San Francisco restaurants may never reopen at all.
For the past five weeks, I have wandered the desolate streets of San Francisco documenting the devastating effect that #COVID19 had had on the city’s once vibrant restaurant scene. Here is what I saw.#ShelterInPlace #food #dining #photojournalism https://t.co/6uLg0YvdFN
— Scott Strazzante (@ScottStrazzante) April 30, 2020