Kudlow on Dem candidates: ‘I don’t understand what planet they’re describing’

Top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow slammed Democratic presidential candidates’ economic policies Sunday, arguing they would do “great damage” to the economy.

“I don’t understand what planet they’re describing,” Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.” “The United States economy is booming.”

Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, pointed to low unemployment and the strong performance of the stock market.

But Kudlow was pressed by host Chris Wallace on stark income inequality in the U.S. and on what specifically President Donald Trump would do to narrow the gap between rich and poor if reelected. Kudlow instead argued progressive Democratic policies would hurt economic growth, though he didn’t specify which policies.

“I will make this warning: Some of the policies that I’ve heard in some of these early debates, in my judgment, would do great, great damage to this prosperity and jobs and income and wage cycle that we are experiencing,” Kudlow said, referring to the opening Democratic presidential debates Wednesday and Thursday.

“The economy is strong,” he said. “The narrative from the other side, it just ain’t so.”

Kudlow also called an agreement between Trump and Chinese Xi Jinping to restart trade talks “a very big deal,” but said the negotiations could “go on for quite some time, frankly.”

“There’s no promises. There’s no deal made. There’s no timetable. I want to emphasize that,” he said. “The president said several times this is about the quality of the deal.”

At the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, the two leaders agreed to resume trade talks, with Trump agreeing to delay a fresh round of tariffs on $300 million in Chinese imports.

Trump also indicated he’d seek to loosen sanctions on Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei, a ban that has broad bipartisan support due to national security concerns.

Kudlow downplayed the concerns that relaxing some restrictions on U.S. companies selling equipment to Huawei, saying it would likely apply to areas of “general availability.”

“I appreciate their national security concerns, and the president shares that point of view,” Kudlow said. “This is not a general amnesty.”