Trump Economy: Advisers Downplay Recession Concerns, While Americans Strongly Support Free Trade

White House economic advisers Larry Kudlow and Peter Navarro defended the current trade war and downplayed concerns about a possible recession on Sunday news shows, as a new poll shows Americans overwhelmingly support free trade.

Kudlow told Fox News Sunday that he does not "see a recession at all," when asked about a signal in the bond market that sent stocks tumbling last week.

The Dow on Wednesday suffered its worst-performing day of 2019, dropping 800 points, with analysts citing the inverted yield curve, which occurs when the yield on the 10-year treasury note falls below the 2-year rate, showing economic anxiety in investors.

"I think we're in pretty good shape," Kudlow added, pointing at low unemployment and strong consumer confidence as indicators of a steady economy.

Navarro said that "technically we did not have a yield inversion" when asked about the topic on CNN.

"An inverted yield curve is short and long," Navarro said. "All we have had is a flat curve."

Navarro also struck back at the notion that Trump's trade war will result in increased consumer prices, claiming that the tariffs "aren't hurting anyone."

By September, virtually every Chinese-made good entering the U.S. will have a tariff of 10% to 25%. Navarro, a China hawk, said Trump "made a wise decision," when it comes to the tariffs.

A poll released Sunday by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal showed that although Americans approve of Trump's handing on the economy, they overwhelmingly prefer free trade over protectionist policies such as the ones supported by Trump.

American support for free trade is overwhelming at 64%, compared to just 27% who disapprove. Independents, a key voting block in 2020, have even stronger support (77%) for free trade.

Trump has argued that tariffs would bring back American manufacturing jobs and punish countries who he believes to be bad actors in the global economy. Trump has frequently argued that China "takes advantage" of the U.S. by flooding global markets with cheap exports and manipulating its yuan currency.