Closing Bell

Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has many policy ambitions, among them she floated the idea of hiking the top tax rate to a whopping 70 percent to pay for a “Green New Deal.” Although a chorus of media liberals defended and even applauded the socialist’s “soak the rich” suggestion, some high-profile economists opposed it because it would harm the economy. A CNBC reporter also…

In his coverage of Friday morning's stellar jobs report, the Associated Press's Chris Rugaber came up with a couple of doozies aimed at curbing readers' enthusiasm. The AP economics writer half-expected that employers would rein in their hiring over confrontational rhetoric President Donald Trump and other foreign leaders have recently engaged in over trade and tariffs. He also implausibly framed…

During MSNBC’s 11:00 a.m. ET hour, co-anchor Stephanie Ruhle made a point of mocking President Trump’s newly-named economic advisor and longtime CNBC analyst Larry Kudlow for expressing trust in “God’s will” as he began his new White House role.

On Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen suggested in a videoconference call, as translated into plain English by the Wall Street Journal, that "there could be benefits to allowing the central bank to buy stocks as a way to boost the economy in a downturn."

On Thursday's Closing Bell on CNBC, Rob Reiner repeated his charge that Donald Trump's supporters are "not all racists, but there is a strain there." Host Bill Griffeth wondered, "Don't you think just people are angry — they're angry at Washington; they're angry at their boss?" Instead of immediately pointing to "racism," Reiner admitted that "there is a big chunk of Trump supporters who are very…

During a Friday afternoon interview with Hillary Clinton, CNBC’s John Harwood asked the presidential candidate about the current FBI investigation into her e-mail practices.  Clinton defended herself from allegations of misconduct stating “I've been the most transparent public official in modern times, as far as I know.” 

Bernie Sanders is out of touch with the experience of many small-town Americans, CNBC anchor Kelly Evans hinted on the February 2 Closing Bell program. The local Walmart in her small town growing up was a "godsend," according to Evans, who was raised in Lexington, Va.

The RNC may regret its approval of John Harwood as lead moderator for Wednesday night’s GOP presidential debate on CNBC if recent history is any guide. The CNBC anchor and New York Times columnist admitted he and a producer helped make Rick Perry’s infamous “oops” moment even worse.

Apparently voters can expect to see Rick Harrison of History Channel's Pawn Stars hitting the campaign trail for Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio.

Wrapping up a segment on CNBC's Closing Bell on Tuesday, reporter John Harwood suggested that Hillary Clinton's use of personal email to conduct State Department correspondence may well have been just a case of "excessive caution" on her part.

On Friday CNBC’s Ron Insana and Fox Business News’s Charles Gasparino engaged in a Twitter fight that included cheap shots like “you will always be a fat slob i’d smack u silly but it wld be considered child abuse” from Gasparino and comebacks from Insana like: “you shall remain a single-source shill for whomever whispers in your ear. As for the smack down, not worried.”

In an exclusive interview with President Obama on Wednesday, CNBC chief Washington correspondent John Harwood lobbed this softball on the political fallout of the government shutdown: "Before the election last year, you said you thought there was a possibility your re-election would break the fever within the Republican Party. Didn't happen. Do you see this moment as a chance, through this…

NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley made some stunning comments concerning the George Zimmerman trial Thursday. Appearing on CNBC’s Closing Bell, Barkley not only said that he agreed with the verdict, but also that when it comes to race, “I don’t think the media has a pure heart…A lot of these people have a hidden agenda” (video follows with transcript and commentary):

When University of California at Santa Barbara professor Nelson Lichtenstein came onto CNBC to discuss bribery allegations against Wal-Mart De Mexico (a subsidiary of Wal-Mart), he got more than he bargained for. Kenneth Langone, an investor who helped found Home Depot, had joined Maria Bartiromo for the full hour of “Closing Bell” on Dec. 18. Langone, who is also the CEO of Geeknet and…