A nationwide affordability crisis has left countless Americans in a financial bind, but National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett had only good things to say during a Fox News appearance in which he claimed that Americans "spending more on everything," not just gas, is actually a positive "sign."
When asked by host Maria Bartiromo about Americans spending more across the board amid high inflation and other economic pressures, President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser was all smiles.
He said:
"The thing that I've seen when I look at credit card data and other things that I could get for the private sector is that while people have been spending more money at gas stations, they've been spending more money on everything else, which means they're still very, very optimistic about the state of the economy."
"And they should. 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."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
And during another interview on the network with Shannon Bream, Hassett attempted to downplay concerns about the cost of living after being questioned about growing dependence on credit cards for everyday expenses:
"For the most part, the delinquency is different from default. There’s not any kind of financial threat to the credit card companies. That they don’t feel like they’re heading toward default scenarios, it’s just that people are taking a little bit longer.”
“One of the reasons is that people are spending more money on gas, but they’re also spending more on everything else. Not just groceries, but restaurants, and so on. I think that’s a sign you would see when people are optimistic about the future.”
"Generally what we see when people are worried that they're going to lose their job, that's when they stop spending like crazy. They start saving money because they're worried they might not have the money to pay their rent. What we're seeing right now is spending based on optimism about the future."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Hassett's comments came despite mounting signs of financial strain among American consumers, as outlined in a recent Wall Street Journal report.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the share of credit-card balances that were at least 90 days delinquent climbed to 13.12% in the first quarter of the year, the highest level in 15 years and the worst since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
Total U.S. credit card debt also reached a record $1.25 trillion for a first quarter, while average credit card interest rates rose to 21%, up sharply from 14.6% three years earlier. Separate research by the Urban Institute found that the share of cardholders significantly behind on payments has surpassed pre-pandemic levels and has reached its highest point since 2018.
People were disgusted by Hassett's remarks.
The Trump administration's highly unpopular war with Iran has been accompanied by rising gas prices and an increase in inflation, which climbed from 2.4 percent in February to 3.3 percent in March. It was only a few weeks ago that Trump said he doesn't "think about Americans' financial situation" when negotiating terms with Iran.
Public sentiment has also soured on the economy: recent surveys show that roughly two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Trump's economic stewardship, while a majority say their personal financial situation is deteriorating.
A recent Gallup poll found that 55 percent of respondents felt their finances were worsening, a level of pessimism exceeding that seen during both the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2008 financial crisis.
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