‘You Can’t Disregard’: GOP Rep Calls Out CNN Host For Wanting To ‘Blame President Trump’ For Economic Issues

Republican New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis accused CNN anchor Kate Bolduan of trying to pin economic problems on President Donald Trump despite his administration being in its early stages.

Trump did not rule out the possibility of a recession occurring in 2025 during an interview with FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures.”

“I hate to predict things like that,” Trump said. “There is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing … it takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us.”

Trump also acknowledged during his Tuesday congressional address that tariffs would cause “a little disturbance,” but asserted it would not be significant.

Bolduan, on “CNN News Central,” suggested that Trump was responsible for current issues in the economy but Malliotakis pushed back, pointing to the role of former President Joe Biden’s administration.

WATCH:

📺 Embedded media — coming soon

“Given the uncertainty that President Trump’s tariff approach is creating and given that tariffs often prove inflationary, Donald Trump was asked over the weekend about a possible recession happening this year,” Bolduan said. “He was not 100% confident that he could stave off a recession in 2025. If that is the risk that he is running with this kind of whiplash and environment of business uncertainty while prices go up, is that a risk you think is worth it?”

“Well, there’s been talk about a recession for well over the past year. This is something that has been a threat going back to the Biden Administration. We were anticipating some type of recession and slow, slow growth,” Malliotakis responded. “Why? Because of a lot of the inflationary spending, a lot of the dismantling of energy policy in this country that really drove up the cost of doing business, I think. And also the regulations that the Biden Administration have put in place. So I think that we have a real opportunity here to stop the recession that was supposed to be coming for the past year.”