Trump's Top Economic Adviser Discusses US Outlook As Democrats, Republicans Consider Another Stimulus

President Trump’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, claimed Wednesday that the U.S. economy has hit a “turning point” in its recovery, after a Labor Department report revealed that 2.5 million jobs were added in May, beating expectations.

“We still have a lot of hardship, and we have a lot of heartbreak in many areas. The numbers are still way too high on the unemployment and so forth,” Kudlow said on CNBC’s “The Exchange” program. “But it looks like we’ve hit a turning point.”

“Let’s hope that this thing bottomed way in April and we’re headed towards a terrific recovery in the second half of the year,” Kudlow continued. “We are turning a corner. We are transitioning.”

Kudlow's comments come as Republicans and Democrats have debated another stimulus bill. Democrats sought a $3.5 trillion HEROES Act which would include another round of $1,200 checks. While Republicans have balked, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Wednesday that the Trump administration would "seriously look" at more stimulus checks.

In April, 20.5 million jobs were lost, as states shut down non-essential businesses to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Kudlow has frequently been optimistic about the economy, despite most economists' concerns about the coronavirus. In April, Kudlow told Fox Business the U.S. would experience a big “snapback” in the second half of the year.

Kudlow’s statements and predictions have not always been accurate. In February, he told CNBC that the government had “contained” the coronavirus “pretty close to airtight.” Kudlow later walked back the comments, as thousands of Americans have now died from the virus and nearly 2 million people are infected.

Kudlow, a proponent of supply-side economics, failed to forecast the 2008 financial crisis. In a December 2007 op-ed for The National Review, he claimed the U.S. was experiencing a “boom” under then-President George W. Bush, with no recession in sight.

“There is no recession. Despite all the doom and gloom from the economic pessimistas, the resilient U.S economy continues moving ahead ‘quarter after quarter, year after year’ defying dire forecasts and delivering positive growth,” Kudlow wrote in the article. “In fact, we are about to enter the seventh consecutive year of the Bush boom.”

Kudlow also did not predict the 8-year expansion of the economy in the 1990’s under former President Bill Clinton. More than 22 million jobs were created during the Clinton administration from 1993 to 2001.

“There is no question that President Clinton’s across-the-board tax increases on labor, capital and energy will throw a wet blanket over the recovery and depress the economy’s long-run potential,” he said in a 1993 speech.

In the first quarter of 2020, the economy contracted by 4.8%. The Atlanta Fed expects the economy to decrease by nearly 53% in the second quarter of the year.