CNN’s Abby Phillip And Jemele Hill Laugh at Scott Jennings as He Defends Trump Over Economy-Roiling Policy
CNN anchor Abby Phillip and The Atlantic’s Jemele Hill laughed as they pressed Scott Jennings on President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, which Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has predicted will lead to higher prices and slower economic growth.
On Thursday night’s edition of CNN NewsNight, Phillip and Hill were joined by Ashley Allison, Charlotte Howard, and Batya Ungar-Sargon to discuss Trump’s attacks on Powell.
But when Jennings waded in to defend Trump’s tariffs, a clearly amused Hill and an equally amused Phillip pushed him to explain “What’s the number” that won’t tank the economy:
HILL: You know what else? If you didn’t wildly put tariffs in place that don’t make any sense, that would probably help more.
UNGAR-SARGON: Where do you think the tariffs don’t make sense?
HILL: China. I mean, the big one.
UNGAR-SARGON: China?
HILL: Does not make any sense.
UNGAR-SARGON: Doesn’t make sense to have tariffs on China?
HILL: No. It doesn’t make sense to have this level of tariffs on China. That entire —
UNGAR-SARGON: On China?
JENNINGS: What level do you prefer?
HILL: Well, not 145 percent.
JENNINGS: Give me a number.
HILL: Again, not 145 percent.
JENNINGS: About 144.
HILL: Again, how about 275?
JENNINGS: You seem to be very definitive that this number is wrong.
HILL: No. Because the economy is telling me that it’s wrong!
PHILLIP: What level — what level of tariff, Scott, do you think that the U.S. economy can sustain long term on China?
JENNINGS: On China?
PHILLIP: Yes.
JENNINGS: I would — I want whatever it takes to isolate them.
PHILLIP: I’m going to do a couple more. What’s the number, Scott?
JENNINGS: I hope it’s this one. But if it has to be a bit —
PHILLIP: What’s the number? Do you think it’s 145 percent? You think that the economy will be good and fine in the long haul and —
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: I think the — I think the economy will be good and fine. And our national and economic security will be better when we decouple from China and we’re not dependent upon our biggest enemy in the world for all of this stuff.
Watch above via CNN NewsNight.
