On a good day, listening to top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow discuss economics is like watching the chief herpetologist at the Bronx Zoo run around screaming in the gift shop with a Gaboon viper latched to his scrotum.
Today, he looked even more out of his element.
In an interview with CNN’s Brianna Keilar, the perpetually wrong Kudlow flailed around like a guy who really, really, really doesn’t want to make a risible non-recession call for the second time in a decade.
His strategy? Deny consensus reality.
After watching a clip in which U.K. Prime Minster Boris Johnson said, “We don’t like tariffs on the whole,” Kudlow tried to claim it didn’t really happen:
KEILAR: “We don’t like tariffs on the whole,” Johnson says. How are you responding to criticism from world leaders about the U.S. strategy with China?
KUDLOW: Well, look, I’m not sure I agree how you portrayed that, to be honest, I was in that meeting …
KEILAR: What do you mean? That’s a quote.
KUDLOW: Yeah, well, that may be a quote but sometimes you’re taking a quote out of context. Let me try to generate some context. Again, I was in that meeting for two hours with the world leaders. Indeed, I participated in the meeting. First of all, all those world leaders, every single one of the seven leaders, the G7 …
KEILAR: Larry, what’s out of context? Because we just rolled video. I mean, what is out of context with that quote?
KUDLOW: Agreed. If, if, if I might just finish my thought, please. And I’m not sure what you just played is something from that meeting. It sounds to me like it came after the meeting, which is why I wanted to raise the right context.
KEILAR: That’s in the meeting, Larry.
KUDLOW: Well, I was in that meeting and I can tell you the atmosphere in that meeting was constructive …
KEILAR: Larry, those words came out of Boris Johnson’s mouth. How do you argue with that?
KUDLOW: Let me weigh in. Yes, I know. But Boris Johnson expressed support for President Trump’s campaign to go after ...
KEILAR: These aren’t mutually exclusive ideas, though.
KUDLOW: Well, that’s what I’m trying to say to you, that you’re making a situation … you’re taking it out of context. The total context here was support for the president’s policies ...
KEILAR: I’m not taking it out of context, Larry.
And that’s not all. Oh, no. The Trump administration seems to have launched a coordinated campaign to tell the world that whatever they happen to see or hear coming out of the G7 is just a Fake News Media plot to make Trump look bad.
And here’s the cherry on top of the bullshit sundae:
Is it possible for there to be a less-than-zero percent chance of something being true? Because that’s what we have with that Trump tweet.
Now you see the administration’s backup plan in the event of a recession. Claim it’s not happening. Somehow, I don’t think that will work for very long.
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