Larry Kudlow apologizes to Nikki Haley over Russia sanctions remark
"With all due respect, I don't get confused," the U.N. ambassador responded to comments made by the director of the National Economic Council.
PALM BEACH, Fla. — The new White House economic adviser apologized Tuesday to U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley after suggesting she was suffering from "momentary confusion" when she announced over the weekend that new sanctions against Russia were imminent.
Haley had fired back at Larry Kudlow, saying, "With all due respect, I don't get confused."
A White House official said Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, called Haley to apologize Tuesday afternoon in an effort to mend fences.
A striking intra-administration quarrel played out in public when Kudlow told reporters during a briefing in Florida that Haley "got ahead of the curve" when she said the U.S. would be slapping new sanctions on Russia on Monday in retaliation for the country's support for Syria's Assad government after its latest suspected chemical attack.
Kudlow said additional sanctions are under consideration but have yet to be implemented. Of Haley, he said, "There might have been some momentary confusion about that."
Haley had said Sunday during an appearance on "Face the Nation" that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin would be announcing new sanctions directed at companies associated with Syria's chemical weapons program on Monday, "if he hasn't already."
But Monday came and went without an announcement.
The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to describe private discussions.
On Tuesday, following Kudlow's remark that she must have been confused, Haley said in a statement to Fox News: "With all due respect, I don't get confused."
The dispute between Haley's team and the White House had been playing out largely behind the scenes since Haley's initial comments. The White House has been struggling to explain Haley's remarks amid reports that President Donald Trump put the brakes on the new sanctions. Several administration officials have disputed that characterization, saying Haley was out of the loop.
Three senior administration officials said there were several attempts to get Haley to back off or clarify her comments, but she refused.
The officials said that, under the plan conceived last week, the sanctions would have been announced Friday night, at the same time U.S., French, and British forces launched a missile strike on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons facilities. But the sanctions were not ready in time for Trump's Friday night statement, so they were delayed.
The officials said a decision was then made to announce the sanctions as an answer to Russia's response to the strikes. But that plan was re-evaluated and then put on hold over the weekend as it became clear that Russia's response was less robust than anticipated. The officials were not authorized to discuss private administration deliberations publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
A National Security Council memorandum sent overnight Friday said the new sanctions would be announced soon, but it did not specify a date. Over the next 36 hours, officials began to delve deeper into the proposed sanctions and decided to hold off on anything imminent, but Haley was unaware, the officials said.
On Monday, a new memo went out from the NSC saying that additional sanctions were under consideration, but no decision had been made. In the face of Haley's refusal to clarify on Sunday, draft language was sent to her suggesting again that she do so, the officials said.
Haley and her office ignored that so the White House decided to push back, the officials said.
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I admit, I am a fan of Nikki Haley!
With all due respect, I don't get confused.
Lol, gotta love it; the context this was spoken in reveals an entire mouthful of slamming the administration.
That was my interpretation as well ... by refusing to clarify and ignored the White House - the slam became a WWe smack down : )
I agree, I like Nikki. She is the only good choice Trump has made in his cabinet picks.
True ... Yet, I sent her subliminal messages to stay as far away from the Trump administration as possible - guess she did not get my messages!
She would seem to be the adult in the room for the moment, but they are quickly running out of adult supervision.
Not a particular fan, but I must say I like her style.
Had a conversation with a good friend last night - he said.
I became a fan of hers during the Confederate Flag removal debate in South Carolina ... as governor she conducted herself in a compassionate thoughtful authoritative manner.... in my opinion!
I think what Larry meant to say was "The President is experiencing momentary effects of his permanent confusion". The only thing that is still confusing is why Trump keeps playing the role of lapdog to Putin. I really don't think we'll find out until it's in Putins best interest to spill what he's got on Trump, whether it be financial ties and proof Russia bailed him out during the last recession with laundered money, or the tape of Donald being micterated on by underage prostitutes.
LOL working for this megalomaniac trump has got to be one of the worst jobs in America.
Maybe thats why so many folks are throwing in the towel.
So sad they need to stay and fight the power that is.... trump
Before there is no one left for him to fight.
Leaving a "one man government" with a bunch of "robots" in all the other positions.
America VS trumperika
VOTE
Want a better country ? Research all candidates and VOTE for the most qualified for every office you can.
Want a better country ? Research all candidates and VOTE for the most qualified for every office you can.
Sage advice in my opinion.
Agreed luther ... one must take a personal interest in the candidates, as well as the issues .. then vote their conscience ...
Kudlow got something of a pass when he was appointed head of the Economic Council. The typical comment was, "Yeah, OK.. Kudlow isn't really an economist. He's a Fox talking head. But economic policy isn't in fact his primary responsibility. The economic council is a clearing house, ensuring that all parts of the government are one the same economics page.
So the talent that Kudlow actually needs is... diplomacy.
Oh, wait.....