In separate interviews on Sunday with NBC's Meet the Press, Fox News and ABC's This Week, top Trump economic advisers downplayed warnings that the U.S. is headed towards a recession.
"I sure don't see a recession" Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council and an adviser to President Trump, told Chuck Todd on Meet the Press.
"We're doing pretty darn well, in my opinion," Kudlow continued, "Let's not be afraid of optimism." He pointed to key Trump administration talking points—including rising wages, the high employment rate, low interest rates and increases in household saving.
Kudlow also attributed a slowdown in capital investment, purchases business make as they grow, to falling oil prices, which he said was actually good for consumers.
In response, Todd pointed out that Kudlow–like other analysts–previously failed to predict the 2008 economic crisis.
Kudlow responded by drawing a parallel between Trump and Obama, saying that economic growth had hovered around 3 percent in the first two years of both. But he pivoted back to support for the current administration: "I must say, as the president is transforming and rebuilding this economy, he deserves enormous credit."
Kudlow repeated his talking points on Fox News Sunday. Responding to a question about the administration's efforts to "stave off what some are saying could be a possible coming recession," he replied that the White House was "saving even while they're spending, which is about as good as it gets."
In both interviews he alluded to Wall Street firms "marking up their economic forecasts" at the end of last week.
In December 2007, when Kudlow was economics editor at National Review Online, he wrote an article claiming the economy would continue to flourish for years to come. The worst economic downturn since the Great Depression began later that month.
Also on Sunday, Peter Navarro, director of the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, appeared on ABC's This Week to spread a similar message of optimism—promising lower interest rates, increased European exports and the passage of the US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement.
"What I can tell you with certainty is that we're going to have a strong economy through 2020 and beyond with a bull market," Navarro proclaimed.
Kudlow and Navarro's media tour follows a shift in the bond market over the last two weeks that has some analysts concerned.
For the first time since 2007, three-month government bonds achieved a higher yield rate than 10-year bonds. Historically, the market's preference for shorter-term bonds has often–though not always–preceded economic downturns.
Financial markets felt a second shockwave on Thursday, as concerns over the Trump administration's ongoing trade war with China slowed stock trading to its lowest level in years.
Reports have tied the president's chances of winning a second term to the strength of the economy. Trump is currently on his way back to D.C. after spending the week campaigning and visiting the Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey.
