Fox News was criticized after featuring finance expert Jade Warshaw in a segment about saving money this holiday season, including excluding adults from getting Christmas presents—a suggestion that isn't being received well amid a nationwide affordability crisis.
Warshaw, a co-host of The Ramsey Show, the nationally syndicated radio program featuring finance guru Dave Ramsey, said now is “not the time to spend and break the bank" given how tough things are financially for many Americans this holiday season.
Although holiday shopping is still expected to rise at a healthy clip this year, worries persist that consumer spending—which drives much of the U.S. economy—may weaken as many Americans face mounting financial pressure.
Businesses report that President Donald Trump's tariffs were squeezing their margins and predicted that discretionary holiday purchases would be the first casualties as budget-conscious shoppers cut back.
The high cost-of-living has been exacerbated by the financial blows dealt by the recent government shutdown, which put millions of Americans out of work and threatened SNAP benefits for weeks.
According to Warshaw, there's a simple solution here:
"Budget, budget, budget. You need a plan and also remember: adults don't need gifts. Focus on the people in your life who are age 3 to 18. Grandma doesn’t need slippers. If they don’t live by you, don’t get them a gift."
"Now is not the time to spend and break the bank sending packages across the country. Focus on the people in your life ages 3 to 18. That's my 30 seconds for you."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
While no one is saying budgeting isn't a solid financial habit, people were quick to point out the callous and tone-deaf nature of the segment.
Warshaw's remarks bring to mind ones Trump made earlier this year.
Trump angered many when he said that children may simply have to deal with having “two dolls instead of 30” as a result of his trade war.
At the time, economists and journalists alike expressed concerns that Trump's spate of tariffs, fresh off "Liberation Day," would trigger major shortages for both businesses and consumers.
Online retailers like Temu had already responded with price increases, showing “import charges” at checkout and highlighting the tariff impact—sometimes doubling the original cost of an item.
This didn't seem to bother Trump, who said that "maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally."
So what was that about the war on Christmas?
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
