Kudlow: ‘There’s no recession on the horizon’

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Sunday sought to allay fears of an economic downturn, saying, “I don’t see a recession at all.”

The White House adviser demurred when asked by “Fox News Sunday” guest host Dana Perino whether the Trump administration is considering concrete steps to stave off a potential recession after short-term U.S. Treasury bonds last week rose above yields for longer-term bonds. The development, which can signal a forthcoming recession, sparked the worst single-day losses for stocks of 2019.

{mosads}“The Trump pro-growth program, which I believe has been succeeding, we’re going to stay with that,” Kudlow told Perino.

“There’s no recession on the horizon,” he added. “What’s wrong with a little optimism?”

Dana Perino asks @larry_kudlow if the White House is worried about a possible recession #FNS #FoxNews pic.twitter.com/694farlkST

— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) August 18, 2019

Kudlow echoed the comments in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Host Chuck Todd noted, however, that Kudlow made similar remarks in 2007, shortly before the Great Recession began, and wrote, “There’s no recession coming. … The pessimistas were wrong.”

“I plead guilty to that,” Kudlow responded on NBC.

Fox’s Perino also asked Kudlow about President Trump’s frequent references ahead of the 2018 midterm elections to a 10 percent tax cut for middle-income earners that never materialized. Kudlow responded that the administration is “looking at it” and also touted a proposal by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to offset tariffs with additional tax cuts.

She also pressed Kudlow on the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China. Last week, the administration announced several categories of tariffs on Chinese goods would be delayed until December.

“The goal here is very simple. We want to minimize any impact [of tariffs] on the American consumer. So far it’s been virtually zero,” Kudlow said, echoing comments by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro.

–This report was updated on Aug. 19 at 1:32 p.m.