Washington (Sen. Cramer’s Office)  In case you missed it, Senator Kevin Cramer was on ‘Mornings with Maria’ on Fox Business this morning. Watch it here. Some highlights:

Topics addressed included:

On ‘Mini Super Tuesday’:

 

“When you … have an honest debate head-to-head, whether it’s Bernie Sanders or Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump, Donald Trump’s got a very good message for Michigan. He has delivered on the things he said he’d deliver on. He’s definitely brought some manufacturing back to the Midwest – and Michigan chief among them – his work on trade has been fantastic. When it comes to blue collar Michigan, Donald Trump has the message, he has the policies he gets to run on, not just talk about. I think that’s an advantage.”

 

On the Economy and the Coronavirus:

 

“Well [Democrats] have definitely been cheerleading for a down economy for some time now. I don’t think there were many happy people yesterday except maybe Democrat activists looking for a way to beat Donald Trump. But when it comes to the fundamentals of an economy, setting the market aside for a moment, last week we had a phenomenal report on February jobs that same day I think the markets were down about a thousand points. I think for people in places like the Midwest, particularly in Michigan, they’re looking at their own paychecks, they’re looking at their own job security and thinking, ‘wow this is pretty good.’

 

“Now, having said all of that, how the leadership deals with this and gets us through this coronavirus will have some impact on how people view the leadership of Donald Trump. To this point, I think he’s been very good, even though many in the mainstream again are cheering for disaster and trying to spin disaster and talk us into it. By and large, I think he’s done a fantastic job.”

 

On Stimulus Measures:

 

“I’m open to persuasion, although I would say this sounds a little more like a safety net than it does a stimulus package. I think there are some things we are working on I would rather see us get behind. Let’s pass this big highway bill that came out of our Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously and put people to work and have at the end of it an appropriate federal infrastructure that has as its primary purpose the profitability of the private sector. If we need to, let’s accelerate and elevate the rebuilding of our military and build more fighter jets faster and get our missile system up to date and modernize our nuclear triad. Some of the things that are the federal government’s responsibility anyway and at the end of it we have something to show for it.

 

“Now that’s not to say I’m against some sort of a short-term safety net because there’s no question there could be disruption in workers’ ability to earn a living through all of this and we need to be sensitive to that. But borrowing money and throwing it out into the street for a spending package isn’t my instinct, but I’m open to persuasion.”

 

On Oil Prices:

 

“I worry about this in the long run. There is no question you will almost certainly see some sort of a tightening. You will see the value chain in oil production will be squeezed first by the producers. Then we’ll see how the producers themselves come out of it on the other side. At a time of demand decline, having a glut is not healthy but then to have an oversupply strategy on the part of the Russians and the Saudis is devastating. I think we’ve got to have some geopolitical leadership here that brings this all back into play. Frankly all of this other stuff is emotional, but when it comes to commodities, supply and demand and fundamentals still matter in the long run and this looks like it could be a very long down cycle if something doesn’t happen.”

 

On Russia’s Role in the Oil Dispute:

 

“They’re more dependent on it than we are. While we’re very dependent on oil and oil is very good for our economy, we are not a petro state. We have a much more diverse economy and that’s been demonstrated through other down cycles in oil price. We’re more likely to weather this than either of the other two countries arguing right now. None of us should have to go through it or want to go through but if we had to go through it we’re probably better positioned than they are.”

 

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