White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow apologized to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley Tuesday after he blamed her “momentary confusion” for the Trump administration’s mixed messages on Russian sanctions.
Kudlow said he spoke with Haley and admitted he was “totally wrong” to say she was confused when she announced Sunday the White House would likely unveil new sanctions against Russia Monday, according to the New York Times.
Kudlow added that Haley appeared on the Sunday morning talk shows without being fully briefed on the administration’s current position.
“The policy was changed & she wasn’t told about it, so she was in a box,” he said.
Kudlow just told me he has spoken to Haley & apologized to her, saying he was “totally wrong” to call her confused & didn’t have complete info. “The policy was changed & she wasn’t told about it, so she was in a box.”
— Julie Davis (@juliehdavis) April 17, 2018
Kudlow told reporters Tuesday Haley “got ahead of the curve” when she made the comments, saying the White House was still considering how to respond to the Kremlin’s continued support of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime. The U.S. blames Assad for a recent deadly chemical weapons attack that killed around 40 people.
“She’s done a great job. She’s been a great ambassador, but there might have been some momentary confusion about that,” he said.
Haley on Tuesday defended herself in the face of Kudlow’s explanation.
“With all due respect, I don’t get confused,” Haley said in a statement, according to multiple reports.
