Chuck Todd Presses Kudlow on His Economic Optimism: You Said in Dec ’07 ‘There’s No Recession Coming’

In his Sunday show appearances today, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow struck an optimistic tone talking about the economy and saying, “I sure don’t see a recession.”

He predicted on Meet the Press that “the second half of the economy is going to be very good in 2019.”

When he emphasized his optimism again, Chuck Todd brought up what he said in a December 2007 column

“Okay, you say that, but you actually said that in 2007 right before the second-worst downturn in American history. This is what you wrote. ‘There’s no recession coming.’ This is in December of ‘07. ‘The pessimistas were wrong. It’s not going to happen… The Bush boom is alive and well. It’s finishing up its sixth consecutive year with more to come.’ The more to come was a massive downturn. I admire your optimism, but the data is pointing in another direction.”

“I plead guilty to that late 2007 forecast,” Kudlow said, before noting he wasn’t the only one.

“You weren’t alone,” Todd said.

Kudlow added, “By February and March on CNBC in those days, I did go to the recession call. So I will plead that I did see it. I don’t know that anybody saw that kind of crash. But look, this is not then…. Our banks are well-capitalized. Our financial system’s in very good shape. And I must say, the president is transforming and rebuilding this economy.”

You can watch above, via NBC.

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