LOS ANGELES:
A contentious interview with White House adviser Peter Navarro over the administration’s response to the coronavirus helped “60 Minutes” earn the top spot in the ratings for the third time this season.
Navarro is an American economist and author. He serves in the Trump administration as the Assistant to the President, Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, and the national Defense Production Act policy coordinator. He previously served as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House National Trade Council, a newly created entity in the executive branch of the US government, until it was folded into the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, a new role established by executive order in April 2017. He is also a professor emeritus of economics and public policy at the Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine, and the author of Death by China, among other publications.
Navarro’s views on trade are significantly outside the mainstream of economic thought, and are widely considered fringe and misguided by other economists. A strong proponent of reducing US trade deficits, Navarro is well known as a critic of
Germany and China and has accused both nations of currency manipulation. He has called for increasing the size of the American manufacturing sector, setting high tariffs, and “repatriating global supply chains”. He is also a strong opponent of the North American Free Trade Agreement and Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The venerable CBS news show drew 9.68 million viewers to edge out three NBC shows: “The Voice,” “Chicago Med,” and “Chicago Fire,” the Nielsen company said Tuesday. Fox’s “The Masked Singer” rounded out the top 5.
Numbers for the top shows that surged in the first weeks that viewers stayed home because of the coronavirus outbreak appear to have leveled off to pre-pandemic levels.
The previous week’s top show “NCIS” drew over 13 million viewers, and “60 Minutes” had over 10 million watching despite finishing fourth.
Major surges in viewers came for a pair of long-running ABC shows, with “Modern Family” airing its series finale after 11 seasons and “Grey’s Anatomy” having its 16th season finale, but neither managed to crack the top 10 as both often did in their primes.
CBS was again the most popular network in prime time last week, averaging 5.83 million viewers, down from 6.7 million viewers the previous week. ABC and NBC each had 4.57 million, Fox had 2.57 million, Univision had 1.58 million, ION Television had 1.26 million and Telemundo had 990,000. (Agencies)