You may have heard that CNBC pundit Larry Kudlow is likely to be tapped as the replacement for Gary Cohn as director of the National Economic Council, now that Kudlow has abandoned his objections to tariffs and protectionist trade policies.
Kudlow has a long history here at C&L, going all the way back to the beginning. One of the top moments on the Kudlow Hit Parade was the day he sat there while his panelists accused Occupy Wall Street of being murderous commies.
And he definitely did not like it when Bernie Sanders called him a socialist.
And we're certain that Kudlow's past addiction to cocaine and alcohol won't be an issue with his security clearance, right? And his tenure at Bear Stearns and Freddie Mac shouldn't be a cause for concern, either, right?
Here's the thing. Larry Kudlow is a big fan of the Trump Billionaire Tax Cuts, so Trump loves him since it's the only legislative accomplishment he's got. Never mind that Conor Lamb successfully ran against that abomination of a tax bill...it's just that they didn't get the right TV guy to sell it, right?
When Craig Melvin asks whether Kudlow is "an actual economist" or "plays an economist on television," it's a real question!
Eamon Javers recites the resume, which isn't much of one at all.
Spoiler alert: Kudlow has no degree in economics.
Transcript below:
MELVIN: Eamon, forgive my ignorance here. Is Kudlow an actual economist or does he play an economist on television? What's his background?
JAVERS: Sure, he hosted a television show on CNBC for many years. He was also the chief economist at Bear Stearns. He worked in the Ronald Reagan Office of Management and Budget. So he's got experience both in government and on Wall Street and in the financial media.
He's a pundit now, he's an advocate. The president views him as someone in his ideological corner. Larry Kudlow was an adviser on the presidential campaign, has advised the president off and on throughout the first year of his presidency.
This is someone who was experienced in a lot of the different areas that a National Economic Council Director will face, but also somebody who can go out on television and sell the president's economic agenda. I think that's part of what the president saw in Larry Kudlow. You know that the president relates to the world very much through television.
MELVIN: Yes.
JAVERS: He likes his advisers to be TV friendly. I think Larry Kudlow fits that bill.
MELVIN: An economist turned pundit. Thank you very much, Eamon Javers.
EXTRA: Here's a warm and fuzzy New York Times report about Kudlow. He's great at television and self-promoting, so he'll fit right in.
