Trump's top economist is 'very optimistic' about tariffs (with Kevin Hassett)

Kevin Hassett is the director of the National Economic Council and arguably the economist closest to President Donald Trump. Right now, he’s also one of the top advisers tasked with explaining the economic fallout of the government shutdown and forging a path forward. Hassett joins POLITICO’s Dasha Burns for this week’s episode of The Conversation, where he talks about the shutdown standoff on Capitol Hill, when Americans should start feeling the benefits of Trump’s big tax bill and how the trade wars may affect the midterms. “The really striking thing is that the place where the tariff policy effects should be the worst is the time right now where we have almost 4 percent growth and low inflation,” Hassett says. “We're very, very optimistic about how this policy is working and what it's gonna look like.” And, Hassett digs into the buzz surrounding whether or not he will be Trump’s pick to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Plus, Shark Tank judge and investor Kevin O’Leary comes on the show to explain why he’s bullish on the TikTok deal news, bearish on the federal government’s investment in Intel and how he’s grading Trump 2.0’s economic performance so far.