'It was awful': Top Trump adviser Larry Kudlow referred to the pandemic in the past tense on a day the US recorded 1,147 COVID-19 deaths
- One of President Donald Trump's top advisers referred to the coronavirus pandemic in the past tense on Tuesday, suggesting the worst was already behind the US.
- "Then came a once-in-100-year pandemic," Larry Kudlow said during the Republican National Convention. "It was awful. Health and economic impacts were tragic."
- The US recorded 1,147 deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday.
One of President Donald Trump's top advisers referred to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in the past tense Tuesday during the second night of the Republican National Convention, appearing to suggest that the worst was behind the US on a day it recorded more than 1,100 deaths from COVID-19.
Larry Kudlow, the director of the White House National Economic Council, touted the strong economy during the first three years of the Trump presidency before describing the recession caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
"Then came a once-in-100-year pandemic," he said. "It was awful. Health and economic impacts were tragic. Hardship and heartbreak were everywhere. But presidential leadership came swiftly and effectively with an extraordinary rescue for health and safety to successfully fight the COVID virus."
His remarks recast the administration's management of the public-health crisis as effective while downplaying the lingering economic devastation stemming from it. Many experts have faulted the federal government for its response to the outbreak earlier this year.
Kudlow also painted a rosy portrait of the nation's economic recovery, calling it "V-shaped," despite evidence it may not be a swift one. The unemployment rate is at 10.2%, and the number of new jobless claims has risen after falling for two straight weeks.
He said booms were underway in housing, manufacturing, stock market, and consumer spending. The latter, however, rebounded strongly in large part because of the $600 federal unemployment benefits that expired last month, which the Trump administration opposed renewing during negotiations on a new stimulus package.
Kudlow said there would be additional tax cuts and another regulatory rollback if Trump were elected to a second term.
According to the COVID-19 Tracking Project, the US recorded 1,147 deaths from the coronavirus as well as 37,000 new cases on Tuesday. The number of new infections has steadily fallen over the past month, but most states have either paused or reversed their reopening plans in a bid to slow the pathogen's spread.