Newsmax Finance Insider Larry Kudlow argues that despite all the outcry from tech companies, President Donald Trump's ban on refugees and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States obviously isn’t intended to be racists or hurt business.
“This has nothing to do with disrupting business. It has to do with national security,” he told CNBC.
“This is not about Muslims, this is about terrorists, This is about ISIS, Al-Qaeda," he said.
“America has to be strong regarding its national security. President Trump is focused laser-like on that. I happen to agree with him," said Kudlow, a radio talk-show host and CNBC senior contributor.
Dozens of tech companies, including behemoths like Apple, Google and Facebook, are siding with Washington state and Minnesota as they fight Trump's ban on refugees and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States, the AP reported.
The companies filed briefs late Sunday with a federal appellate court saying the Trump executive order hurts their businesses. In their court filing with the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a total of 97 companies said Trump's travel ban "hinders the ability of American companies to attract great talent; increases costs imposed on business; makes it more difficult for American firms to compete in the international marketplace."
While some disruption to business may be unavoidable, it would have to be classified as collateral damage in the war against terrorism, said Kudlow — host of "The Larry Kudlow Show" and author of "JFK and the Reagan Revolution: A Secret History of American Prosperity," written with Brian Domitrovic and published by Portfolio.
Kudlow explained that would-be terrorists aren't beyond staging any ploy to enter the United States. “They went to get in here. They're adept at the refugee stories. They are adept at getting through the rules. We have seen this time and time again," said Kudlow, who was a senior economist in the Reagan White House.
The travel ban would prompt businesses to build operations outside the United States, said the companies. The long list of enterprises looking to join the fight against Trump are among the country's biggest, most high-profile businesses like Uber, eBay and Netflix.
Kudlow explained that he is all for legal immigration.
“Green cards, fine. Visas, fine. If it's legal. Fine. No problem. And let's not conflate the H-1B visa situation with a potential terrorist situation. If you say to me, the roll-out is sloppy, the execution is sloppy, the explanation was sloppy, yes. I buy into that. It's early in the game," he said, adding that all of the details would eventually be ironed out.
Quoting the legal argument from the tech companies, Kudlow said the firms contend "the order inflicts significant harm on American business, innovation and growth. The order affects a sudden shift in the rules of entry in the United States and it's inflicting harm" on the U.S. companies.
"Why don't they even talk about the terrorist threat? They are conflating the H-1B visa situation with a terrorist protection program. They need to look at themselves and think hard about that because there's too much libertarianism," he said.
"I have some advice for the companies you invite. Here's my advice. Help Trump get his business tax cuts through. That's what they want. That will help their businesses. That will help the country. That will help them repatriate the overseas cash, not making the wild-eyed accusations about a terrorist threat that they won't even acknowledge," he said.
While his first few weeks have certainly been volatile and controversial, Trump will be a demanding leader who applies the best of his negotiating skills to push for U.S. growth, bestselling author David Horowitz recently
told TheStreet.com.
Trump won’t be an ideological purist like Republicans who support free trade but don't fight for fair trade, Horowitz said.
“If you just say, ‘well we're for free trade and we're not going to look at the deals that we make’ -- that's not a good idea,” he said. “We've had an anti-business president now for eight years who doesn't take a hard-nosed attitude towards these deals. Trump is going to get better deals for us, which is still free trade.”
Horowitz's new book, "The Big Agenda: President Trump's Plan to Save America," reveals Trump's "first 100 days strategy" to roll back Obama's legislative and executive record.
Horowitz's new book is the first book about the Trump presidency and has soared to the top of the Amazon bestseller charts, becoming the No.1-selling book on the web. Trump will also lead the way in making infrastructure spending to boost the U.S. economy, Horowitz said.
“If the economy grows as it will under Trump, there's going to be a lot more money to spend,” he said.
"Big Agenda: President Trump's Plan to Save America" is available at bookstores everywhere – or get your copy on Amazon – Click Here Now
Larry Kudlow is a senior contributor at CNBC. His new book is “JFK and the Reagan Revolution: A Secret History of American Prosperity,” written with Brian Domitrovic.
To find out more about Larry Kudlow and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com
(Newsmax wire services contributed to this report).
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