White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) essentially ruined America’s economy in just two months with their handling of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.
“We know that patient zero in China was about mid-November. It was in Wuhan. We know that ground zero had the P-4 weapons lab, where the virus likely came from. For the next two months, we know that China hid the virus from the world behind the shield of the World Health Organization,” Navarro said. “And, as they did that, they sent gleaming passenger jets from China, not into the rest of China from Wuhan, but to places like New York and Milan, seeding the world with what would become a pandemic.”
“As they did that, we also know, Maria, from their own customs data, that they vacuumed up virtually all of the world’s personal protective equipment, including over two billion masks,” Navarro continued. “And we also know that, today, what China is doing, sitting on that stockpile of what we call PPE, is, they are selling it at profiteering prices to some, and, to other countries, they are actually putting pressure on those countries to deny the virus came from China or to talk about Taiwan or to do other things.”
“So, that’s it in a nutshell. And what that means for us here is, this morning, Americans won’t go to church because of the China virus. Sons and daughters of America won’t be taking their mothers to brunch. Tomorrow, 33 million Americans won’t be going to work, and millions of children in America will be home climbing the walls, instead of learning reading, writing, and arithmetic,” Navarro continued. “So, that’s the China problem that we face. President Trump built the most powerful and beautiful economy in the world in three years.”
“The Chinese Communist Party took it down in 60 days,” Navarro continued as he then transitioned into talking about what the administration was doing to get the economy back on track.
WATCH:
Donald J. Trump. The manufacturing president. A rebirth of the textile industry. Maria knocks out of park again. @MariaBartiromo @NCTO @ScottPaulAAM @honeywell https://t.co/TezjvD2gcx
— Peter Navarro (@RealPNavarro) May 10, 2020
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TRANSCRIPT PROVIDED VIA FOX NEWS:
MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: House Republicans launching a China task force led by Kevin McCarthy.
He put the task force together to examine the country’s role in the initial coronavirus outbreak, among other things. It comes amid backlash at Beijing, as we learn how China hid the extent of the crisis so early on and, while doing so, hoarded the much-needed medical supplies to deal with the pandemic.
Peter Navarro first broke that news on this program weeks ago.
Joining me right now is the White House director of trade policy once again, Peter Navarro.
Peter, it’s good to see you this morning. Thanks very much for joining us.
PETER NAVARRO, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF TRADE AND MANUFACTURING POLICY: Good morning, Maria.
BARTIROMO: We are going to get back to the breaking news on General Flynn in a moment, but we want to cover China as well with you.
Give us a status check in terms of where we are today and what we know about the coronavirus and its origin.
NAVARRO: Well, you might get called up to testify, Maria, because you have done the best job really in the media of chronicling this.
We know that patient zero in China was about mid-November. It was in Wuhan. We know that ground zero had the P-4 weapons lab, where the virus likely came from. For the next two months, we know that China hid the virus from the world behind the shield of the World Health Organization.
And, as they did that, they sent gleaming passenger jets from China, not into the rest of China from Wuhan, but to places like New York and Milan, seeding the world with what would become a pandemic.
As they did that, we also know, Maria, from their own customs data that they vacuumed up virtually all of the world’s personal protective equipment, including over two billion masks.
And we also know that, today, what China is doing, sitting on that stockpile of what we call PPE, is, they are selling it at profiteering prices to some. And, to other countries, they are actually putting pressure on those countries to deny the virus came from China or to talk about Taiwan or to do other things.
So, that’s it in a nutshell. And what that means for us here is, this morning, Americans won’t go to church because of the China virus. Sons and daughters of America won’t be taking their mothers to brunch. Tomorrow, 33 million Americans won’t be going to work, and millions of children in America will be home climbing the walls, instead of learning, reading, writing, and arithmetic.
So, that’s the China problem that we face. President Trump built the most powerful and beautiful economy in the world in three years.
BARTIROMO: Yes.
NAVARRO: The Chinese Communist Party took it down in 60 days.
Now, here is the good news. What I have seen at the front lines of the supply chains dealing with this crisis is an incredible ability of American industry to be innovative. I have seen General Motors stand up factory in 17 days, and not only that, replicate the supply chain domestically using their engineering, and in combination with the technology company.
BARTIROMO: Yes.
NAVARRO: I have seen Honeywell build factories in five weeks.
I have seen the ability of this economy basically to move forward in time. And as we throw what’s already $10 trillion almost of stimulus, fiscal and monetary…
BARTIROMO: Wow.
NAVARRO: … at this — that’s the macro — the president, Donald J. Trump, understands what’s important is the micro level.
He’s the jobs president…
BARTIROMO: Yes.
NAVARRO: … the manufacturing president, and the onshoring president.
BARTIROMO: Well, I hope…
NAVARRO: And all three of those things are going to work together to raise wages and productivity.
BARTIROMO: I hope you can move the supply chain, and actually move the needle on the supply chain, because we know that companies want cheap labor.
They have gone to China for lax environmental rules and cheap labor. And, sometimes, the allure of 1.4 billion people have — has been too much of an enticement for — get global CEOs to understand the threat that has been very clearly evident now.
Let me ask you this. How long do you think before things normalize again, Peter? Because, this weekend, we have about 30 percent of the GDP opening up, right? We have got 30 states — up to 30 states, 25 states already beginning the slow process of reopening. That’s about a third of the GDP.
We just saw very bad unemployment numbers on Friday, 33 million Americans having filed for unemployment benefits.
How long do you think before we actually get back to normal?
NAVARRO: Well, for your viewers, my background before I got here was in macroeconomics and macroeconomic forecasting.
What we can’t do Maria, and what this president won’t do, is what Obama and Biden did, which was confuse a structural problem with a cyclical problem, back in 2008, when they were dealing with the financial problem.
The problem there, the structural problem Obama and Biden didn’t recognize was how China, with its unfair trade practices, was gutting our manufacturing, basically, and keeping our growth down and our wages down.
And so, in this case, what we have to understand is that, even as we’re applying these massive fiscal and monetary stimulus, we also have to recognize that…
BARTIROMO: Yes.
NAVARRO: … over the next couple of years, because of changes in our society and culture that are going to ripple through the economy because of the China virus, we’re going to have to adapt.
So we’re going to see industries rise. We’re going to see some that are going to be challenged by that.
BARTIROMO: Yes.
NAVARRO: And this is the jobs president. And that’s what he’s going to focus on at the micro level as well.
BARTIROMO: Right.
NAVARRO: So, I see, for example, a rebirth of our textile industry for the first time in 30 years…
BARTIROMO: Yes.
NAVARRO: … because what we’re doing now is having that industry build — make our masks, our gowns and things like that.
We’re going to see far more really strong…
BARTIROMO: Yes. Yes. You told us about that a couple weeks ago.
NAVARRO: Yes.
BARTIROMO: What I’m trying to understand is normalization. How many years before we feel normal again, Peter?
NAVARRO: That’s a great question.
I think this is going to be a multiyear period as we go through. And I think that’s why it’s important to have somebody in the White House who actually understands economics and the economy.
This will be an ongoing struggle of complexity, that we are going to have to have somebody in the White House who focuses on the economy.
BARTIROMO: Multiyear.
NAVARRO: It’s jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs.
BARTIROMO: OK.
NAVARRO: Yes.
I mean, we’re going to — we’re going to — we — the recovery has already begun.
BARTIROMO: All right. Yes.
NAVARRO: Ten trillion dollars is flooding in now.
BARTIROMO: Right.
NAVARRO: We are getting back to work. But we’re also going to have to tend to these structural issues. And that’s what the president is going to be focused on.
BARTIROMO: OK.
And I will speak with the president about that this week on FOX Business on Thursday morning.
Peter, it is good to see you this morning. Thank you so much, Peter Navarro.