The Biden administration’s attempts to spin negative economic news will inevitably be thwarted by more knowledgeable critics like Breitbart’s Economics Editor John Carney, Fox Business host Larry Kudlow explained in a Thursday segment on his show.
Kudlow made this observation during a panel discussion with Carney, The Shark Tank’s “Mr. Wonderful” Kevin O’Leary of O’Leary Ventures, and the former Trump administration Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Kevin Hassett.
Kudlow, who served as the director of the National Economic Council in the Trump administration, asked his former colleague Hassett for his opinion on a recent rule change initiated by the Biden administration that will allow the White House to comment on economic data only a half hour after its release.
Carney explained the significance of the change in a Wednesday article for Breitbart:
Faced with polls showing that the public strongly disapproves of President Joe Biden’s management of economic issues, the White House is changing the rules to give them a new advantage when it comes to spinning economic data in a more favorable light.
Instead of the one-hour waiting period that has been in place since the Reagan years, administration officials will be able to weigh in on important economic releases after just half an hour.
The change will allow White House officials to comment on economic data released at 8:30 in the morning at 9:00, prior to the opening of the stock market. The risk is that officials would condition the market’s reaction. Important, often market moving data, are typically released at 8:30 a.m., including the monthly jobs and inflation reports.
“The Bidens are so proud of the economy that when the numbers come out at 8:30 in the morning, they don’t want to wait an hour, Kevin, the way you and I had to wait before we went on TV or cable,” Kudlow said to Hassett. “They want to go out there in a half hour and maybe push the markets around.”
“Well, just look at how much Carney and O’Leary know about the economy,” Hassett said, with a nod to Mr. Wonderful and Breitbart’s economics editor. “The fact is, if the White House comes out when there’s a retail sales number and says something that’s ludicrous, then you’re going to be red meat for Breitbart. And they’re going to set market’s straight right away.”
“And the fact is that there are a lot of career staffers at OMB and a CEA that aren’t partisan,” he continued. “[They] really understand nuances of the data that might be important. Like, for example, the CPI just now. There was a massive drop it used car prices, which had a big effect on the overall number. So, it’s actually worse than you thought. I think that having Larry Kudlow out on TV a half hour after the instant response guys is not going to have any political effects.”
Hassett said he supported the rule change and even suggested that it will be put to good use if Trump gets re-elected and brings Kudlow back to the White House.
“You know, next January, Kudlow’s minions are going to be hopefully on TV a lot,” he quipped. “And having them out there a half an hour [earlier] I think will be good to stop the negative slant.”
“John Carney and Kevin O’Leary know more about this stuff than we do,” Kudlow replied. “It doesn’t matter that we’re in the government. They know more about this stuff.”
