Kevin Hassett, smug a-hole economist for the Jared Kushner White House, thinks he and Steve Mnuchin have "the luxury of a moment" to wait to bail out COVID-destroyed state budgets.
Host Jake Tapper asked Hassett if state governors like Ohio's Mike DeWine can "count on the Trump administration to get him the money that Ohio needs? Can the other governors count on it?"
We're watching what happens both to economic activity and, frankly, to the path of disease as that happens, and so that we expect that, very quickly, we will have a picture about how quickly we can recover, whether we might have to slow the recovery back down because the disease is spreading and so on.
And I think that it's just premature. Given that the $9 trillion of aid that passed in the last three phases, given that that is still out there, and there's still a bunch of it that's going to be delivered over the next month, we think that we have a little moment, the luxury of a moment, to learn about what's going on, so that the next step that we take can be prudent.
Secretary Mnuchin made efforts so that the monies we have already passed to the state can be used for first responders. I think that was an important bit of help that the governors were grateful for. And, of course, if we go to a phase four deal, I think that President Trump has signaled that, while he doesn't want to bail out the states, he's willing to help cover some of the unexpected COVID expenses that might have come their way. And so I think, right now, the key is to watch the data and to make sure that the next move is as smart as the previous three.
Hassett has a lot of nerve telling Governors the HE AND THE WHITE HOUSE have the "luxury of a moment" when he can't go into his office because of the virus.
If you want to read more about what an incompetent, yet highly confident, douchebag Kevin Hassett is, check out this Paul Krugman column. He's right out of the Laffler Curve School, and of course, Laffler is in the White House, too. When he's not avoiding it due to the virus.
