In what is surely a sign of the current stormy economic forecast, not even Fox Business host Larry Kudlow could find a way to put a positive spin on today’s market news: that the Dow Jones dropped by 715 points, or 1.7 percent. If that weren’t enough, the S&P 500 dropped by 2 percent, having one of its worst days in the past two years, while NASDAQ fell by 2.7 percent.
Fellow Fox Business anchor Liz Claman described the news as a “tough way to end the week” at the end of The Claman Countdown, which then transitioned into Kudlow. The eponymous host welcomed viewers to the program with a litany of bad news, summarizing the situation like this: “So, markets crash over 700 points today after a bad inflation report, more tariff confusion, oh, and by the way: [Are] Republicans really gonna raise taxes?”
Not only could Kudlow not spin the news coming out of Wall Street, but he couldn’t spin the news coming out of D.C. either—namely that President Donald Trump is considering implementing tax increases on the highest earners, a move which defies traditional Republican orthodoxy.
According to a report from Axios, some senior White House officials believe that increasing taxes for those in the highest income bracket would afford the GOP some room to breathe as they seek to shore up other priorities, including cutting taxes on tips.
Clearly, Kudlow is not happy with this news, which came alongside the news that inflation hit 2.8 percent in February, which was more than expected, while consumer spending rose by .4 percent, which was less than what had been projected.
The news will do little to quell Americans’ economic concerns in what is an increasingly uncertain time, thanks in no small part to Trump’s machinations that include implementing enough tariffs to trigger a global trade war, which experts are projecting could cost American households an additional $1,200 per year.
Earlier this month, Trump’s treasury secretary Scott Bessent attempted to dismiss economic concerns, announcing on Fox & Friends that the Trump administration was more concerned with “Main Street” right now: “I think over the medium term, which is what we’re focused on, it’s a focus on Main Street.”
He continued, “Wall Street’s done great, Wall Street can continue to do fine, but we have a focus on small business and consumers so we are going to rebalance the economy, we’re going to bring manufacturing jobs home.”
In response, co-host Brian Kilmeade’s asked whether Trump’s tariffs would contribute to inflation, a question Bessent avoided answering directly. Three weeks later, we now appear to have our answer.
