Coronavirus recovery 'in full swing' outside urban areas: Navarro
Navarro calls the reopening progress of Maine and Washington, D.C. 'a tale of two cities'
U.S. economy appears to begin recovery with ‘better-than-expected’ May jobs report; White House trade adviser Peter Navarro joins ‘Sunday Morning Futures.’
Assistant to the President for trade and manufacturing policy Peter Navarro told "Sunday Morning Futures" that the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is "in full swing" outside of urban areas.
Navarro specifically touted the progress that he saw during President Trump's visit to Maine on Friday.
"You saw jobs created from Bangor to Guilford to Pittsfield all the way over to the Bath Iron Works and Brunswick," Navarro said. "This is what happens when you get away from our major metropolitan areas into the rest of the country."
President Trump tours Puritan Medical Products medical swab manufacturing facility, June 5, 2020, in Guilford, Maine. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
He noted that if you compare the progress in Maine to Washington, D.C., it's a "tale of two cities."
"D.C. right now is a burned-out shell and the second-worst mayor in America, Muriel Bowser, is largely responsible for that," Navarro said. "She waited till all 50 states to reopen this place and it's not open."
Bowser has been in a feud with President Trump since pushing back on his decision to deploy National Guard and active duty military to the Washington area.
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Navarro said the rioting and looting in major metropolitan areas last week and the week before impacted almost 2 million jobs, hindering a quick economic recovery from the pandemic.
"When you have an arsonist burn out a small business, that's a hundred jobs that are destroyed, not just inside the enterprise, but along the supply chain," he said.
He argued that these cities' officials should be focused on reopening instead of "turning our major metropolitan areas into theme parks for arsonists and looters."
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While he is confident in President Trump's ability to rebuild the economy, he stressed the importance of getting major metropolitan areas back to work.
"This president built this economy up in three and a half years, the most beautiful economy in history," he said. "We can do it again, but we're going to need our metropolitan areas to get back to work, and when I look around at this city with Muriel Bowser, it's not happening anytime soon."
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The Labor Department's jobs report on Friday was better than economists expected, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs in May, the biggest increase on record, and a reported unemployment rate of 13.3 percent.
There are more than 1.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 109,000 deaths in the United States, according to the latest update by Johns Hopkins University.
Demonstrators protest Saturday, June 6, 2020, near the White House in Washington, over the death of George Floyd, a black man who was in police custody in Minneapolis. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Demonstrators protest Saturday, June 6, 2020, near the White House in Washington, over the death of George Floyd, a black man who was in police custody in Minneapolis. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
A group of protesters take a knee while marching in lower Manhattan, Saturday, June 6, 2020, in New York. Protests continued following the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
A man speaks into a megaphone while standing with others on the center divider as traffic is stopped on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Saturday, June 6, 2020, at a protest over the death of George Floyd. Floyd died May 25 after being restrained by Minneapolis police. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Demonstrators protest Saturday, June 6, 2020, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, over the death of George Floyd, a black man who was in police custody in Minneapolis. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Navarro's comments come after thousands took to the streets this weekend to peacefully protest against racial injustice following the death of George Floyd, who was killed while in police custody.
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