Cavuto tells new Trump adviser: You don’t sound like the man ‘I’ve respected and admired’

Fox News host Neil Cavuto on Wednesday clashed with President Trump’s new top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, over the administration’s recent tit-for-tat tariffs with China.

“When you look at this whole picture, blame China. Don’t blame President Trump,” Kudlow said Wednesday. 

“You think this is the solution, Larry?” Cavuto asked the former CNBC analyst, referencing billions in tariffs that are set to be imposed on Chinese goods. Beijing has already rolled out reprisal measures.

{mosads}“I think for all these years China has had unfair and illegal trading practices, Neil. And I think the rest of the world knows that. So, President Trump’s out there firing a shot across the bow saying, you know, we mean business,” Kudlow said. “This doesn’t have to turn into a trade war.”

“Then why does it feel like it has?” Cavuto interjected.

“This doesn’t sound like the laissez-faire, hands-off Larry Kudlow I’ve respected and admired all these decades,” he added.

Kudlow praised Trump as a “master negotiator,” and expressed optimism that the back-and-forth with China could ultimately result in mutual economic growth.

China announced its own tariffs Wednesday targeting American soybeans, cars and other exports. The Chinese government had previously announced tariffs focused on U.S. fruit and pork imports.

Those tariffs came in response to the Trump administration announcing roughly $50 billion in tariffs and other penalties over what it says are unfair trade practices on Beijing’s part, including billions in intellectual property theft.

U.S. lawmakers have expressed concern that the decision to exchange tariffs with China — as well as Trump’s worldwide tariffs on steel and aluminum — could spark a global trade war and negatively impact U.S. farmers who produce soybeans, fruit and other products.

Kudlow, who has contributed to The Hill, was hired by Trump to replace Gary Cohn as the head of the National Economic Council. He officially started the job earlier this week.