Overview
- Kevin Hassett challenged a Fox News poll on Sunday, claiming polls “poll way too many Democrats” and insisting the United States has a “really strong economy.”
- Fox host Peter Doocy pushed back on-air, rejecting Hassett’s partisan explanation and pressing him to address voters’ reports that prices feel too high.
- Hassett cited a personal grocery anecdote about hamburger prices falling by $2 and blamed higher costs on inflation “inherited from Joe Biden,” statements that reporters and analysts quickly disputed.
- Public data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the USDA’s Economic Research Service show year-over-year food and beef price increases that contradict Hassett’s anecdote, and analysts note Hassett relied on a short-term annualized decline rather than the conventional 12-month inflation measure.
- The episode comes as polls show weak economic sentiment—only 23% rate the economy excellent or good and 62% name grocery costs as a major problem—and it underscores a White House communications challenge despite mixed macro indicators such as 1.5% Q2 GDP growth, low unemployment claims, and a drop in drug prices.