Trump Adviser Refers To Coronavirus In Past Tense In RNC Speech As He Claims ‘Successful’ Fight

TOPLINE

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow spoke about the coronavirus pandemic in the past tense in a speech to the Republican National Convention, claiming the Trump administration mounted an “extraordinary rescue” that “successfully” fought the virus.

KEY FACTS

Key Background

While the economy has improved as some states have reopened, more than 30 million Americans are still receiving unemployment benefits, a number of key economic indicators turned lower in July and consumer confidence unexpectedly dropped in the first two weeks of August to a six-year low. The Conference Board’s base case is that U.S. gross domestic product will contract 4.9% for the full year.

Chief Critic

Kudlow’s remarks were met with fierce criticism by commentators. “I am so tired of this narrative that the economy was in the toilet under Obama and Trump revived it,” tweeted Catherine Rampell, a Washington Post columnist who noted that “average GDP growth in Obama’s 2nd term was about equal to average under Trump pre-covid.” Others took aim at Kudlow for treating the virus as a past event as cases and deaths continue to rise. 

Big Number 

33,076. That’s how many new coronavirus cases were reported in the U.S. on Tuesday, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control. 394 deaths were also reported for a total U.S. death toll of 176,617.

Surprising Fact

Kudlow’s remarks bore little resemblance to remarks sent to the media in advance by the GOP. Forbes has reached out to the Trump campaign on whether this was intentional.

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