White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett pushed back hard on reports that consumer sentiment has hit record lows, arguing that Americans are still spending more—especially at gas stations—so they must remain optimistic. Host Maria Bartiromo challenged him wi
For millions of Americans feeling pinched by high prices, the White House’s message landed like an argument with their own wallets.
On Fox Business Tuesday. Kevin Hassett—described by the administration as a top White House economic adviser—tried to soften the latest reports of low consumer confidence by pointing to what Americans are doing. not what they say. He argued that credit card data and other private-sector indicators show people are spending more at gas stations. but also spending more on “everything else. ” a pattern he said signals ongoing optimism about the state of the U.S. economy.
“The thing that I’ve seen when I look at credit card data and other things that I can get from the private sector is that while people have been spending more money at gas stations. they’ve been spending more money on everything else. ” Hassett said. He framed that as proof that consumers still believe the economy is healthy.
“If you look at GDP now, right now, it’s north of 4%. And so. despite this disruption. all the momentum that we built with the big. beautiful bill and AI and everything else is really what the main economic story of the U.S. is,” he said. In Hassett’s telling. the pain from gas prices and inflation did not add up to a damaged mood—it was. instead. a signal that growth and momentum remained intact.
Not everyone bought the premise. The administration’s attempt to reinterpret spending tied to gas prices and higher inflation as confidence collided with the reality that those same pressures are what many Americans point to when they describe being worse off. Even with economic growth continuing and the unemployment rate remaining low, some economists have warned the U.S. is operating as a “K-shaped” economy—one in which higher-income Americans benefit from rising stock market prices while lower-income Americans struggle.
The confrontation sharpened when Bartiromo brought up the consumer sentiment data directly. She noted the consumer sentiment index fell for the third straight month and that the latest reading marked a new all-time low. She then asked Hassett for the most important messaging the White House should deliver to improve consumer sentiment.
Hassett’s answer turned from spending patterns to language itself. “They call it ‘consumer sentiment’ but I don’t think those words mean what they think they mean anymore,” he said.
He added that his office examined “the political affiliation” of respondents and argued there was a tight relationship between what independents and Democrats say—suggesting the survey is less about the economy as experienced by households and more about partisan attitudes.
“The correlation between what independents say and Democrats say … it’s almost exactly perfectly correlated,” Hassett said. “So what they’ve done is they’ve somehow devised a political survey that tells us how Democrats are feeling about things.”
Hassett’s remarks spread quickly on social media, where his effort to cast a headline economic barometer as political theater was met with mockery and outrage. Bartiromo’s question—“Consumer sentiment is a record low”—and Hassett’s response were both widely reposted.
One post from Aaron Rupar included Hassett’s claim that spending more at gas stations and on “everything else” means people are still “very very optimistic about the state of the economy.” Another repost of the exchange also captured Hassett’s insistence that the term “consumer sentiment” no longer means what people think it means.
Critics on social media seized on the idea that the administration was trying to rebut what Americans were reporting by redefining the measure. Christopher Moore wrote that “2 Cabinet spokesmen in an hour saying that you are not feeling what you are feeling and that you are not seeing what you’re seeing.” PresidentLinkin described the messaging as being “held hostage” by what he called “unprecedented stupidity.” William Hastings framed the approach as an “authoritarian playbook. ” saying that if the numbers look bad. they should be dismissed—or if that fails. the data collection should stop.
The episode also followed a similar line Hassett has used before. The account notes that earlier this month he attempted to spin the idea that increased credit card spending was evidence of robust consumer confidence.
Where the economy is headed may matter. But for many Americans. the immediate question is simpler: if consumer sentiment is hitting record lows while prices are still high. why does the administration keep insisting that what people feel doesn’t match what the data shows?. Hassett’s answer Tuesday was spending—then, when pressed, the survey itself.
Kevin Hassett consumer sentiment Fox Business Maria Bartiromo credit card data unemployment rate GDP inflation gas prices K-shaped economy White House economic adviser