Larry Kudlow: ‘US probably hasn’t peaked in unemployment, pandemics not over’
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow White House tells ‘Fox and Friends’ America will continue to face hardships amid the coronavirus crisis but the virus is ‘flattening’ and there are ‘glimmers of hope and growth.’
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White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Friday that though the coronavirus pandemic is not over, as the curve of infection cases flatten and businesses reopen, an economic boom in the second half of the year is in the making.
“I call them glimmers of hope and growth,” Kudlow told “Fox & Friends."
“Cars are driving more, gasoline prices are up," Kudlow said. He continued, "We’re even seeing unemployment claims, which is a terrible number close to 40 million. But it is slowing in its increase."
Kudlow went on to say, “So, there is some hope that, I think, we’re going to move strongly into the second half of the year with perhaps as much as 20 percent economic growth. We’ll talk about this with the business leaders.”
Kudlow said the White House is set to host an economic roundtable with business leaders and CEOs to discuss the transition into reopening the economy.
Meanwhile, as President Trump and the rest of the country grapple with an economic downturn and sky-high unemployment rates amid the coronavirus crisis, some Democrats reportedly worry that an explosive economic recovery in the fall could revive Trump’s lagging political fortunes -- and boost his chance at reelection.
Politico reports that Jason Furman, a top economist in the Obama administration and now a Harvard professor, told a bipartisan group of policymakers last month that, “We are about to see the best economic data we’ve seen in the history of this country.”
The claims may seem counterintuitive amid the bleak economic picture right now. But it's premised on assumptions that as lockdowns ease, a recovery could follow more quickly than after past economic crises. Since his earlier prediction, Furman has reportedly also been making the case to Democrats, including top members of presumptive nominee Joe Biden's campaign.
“This is my big worry,” a former Obama White House official told the outlet, who said of the concern about top members of the party: “It’s high -- high, high, high, high.”
Polls have shown Trump trailing Biden nationally, which can in part be attributed to the considerable economic downturn due to the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown response in large parts of the country. A recent Fox News poll showed Biden with an 8-point lead.
But while an economy with an unemployment rate above 14 percent and rising could normally be expected to doom an incumbent in a general election, there are signs that the economy could begin to dramatically swing back as the election approaches and lockdown measures subside.
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Kudlow said that after going through a "liquidity phase," the United States has entered a “reopening phase.”
“I think the next phase has to go back to old fashioned Trump-onomics: cutting taxes, deregulating, fair trade deals, things that grew the economy rapidly in the first three years plus and things that can grow the economy rapidly in the second half and on into next year,” Kudlow said.
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“The president rebuilt the economy, he can do it a second time,” Kudlow said.
Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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