WOLF BLITZER (HOST): Brian, hey, so he's gone to CNBC this time. A long-time friend of the president, Larry Kudlow, a long-time anchor and analyst on CNBC, to come in and run economics over at the National Economic Council.
BRIAN STELTER (CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT): Yeah, we know that when President Trump wants advice or affirmation, he frequently turns on the TV. But this is one of the best examples yet of that Trump-TV feedback loop. It's not only that the president live tweets cable news shows, gets ideas from cable news hosts, and sometimes calls them up after they're on the air. Now we actually see him poaching a host from cable television, in this case Larry Kudlow, as you've been talking about. Kudlow has been a host on CNBC for many years. He's one of the best known faces on CNBC. A conservative commentator, someone who's been promoting free market capitalism all of his life and on television for many years. He was also an informal adviser to Trump during the campaign. So they've been in touch. This is nothing new necessarily. What is new is to see this CNBC host -- he's now a contributor to the network -- actually making the leap and joining the government. Maybe not the last person we'll see make this move from TV to the White House.
BLITZER: Yeah, he's brought in some others. From Heather Nauert at the State Department, a spokeswoman who is now going to be, I take it, an undersecretary of State for public diplomacy, for public affairs. She also used to work at Fox.
STELTER: Yeah, that's right. Heather Nauert was a Fox & Friends host. Then she joined the State Department last year. Sort of the first example of this Trump-TV feedback loop where he actually hires people away from television jobs. I think it reminds us again that that feedback loop is even stronger than ever. Fourteen months into Trump's presidency, he's sometimes calling up Fox hosts when he needs advice. He's seeking out the Sean Hannitys of the world for guidance, and bringing Kudlow into the administration is another example. I did have a CNBC executive say to me, “We don't want to lose him. We don't want to see Kudlow go.” But certainly I also -- I guess he can't say no when the president calls.
