Economic adviser Kevin Hassett dismissed economic bedwetters, saying strong spending bodes well for the economy.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Sunday that record Black Friday sales underscore the administration’s optimism on economic growth despite concerns around tariffs and inflation.
Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, cited what he said were a rise of roughly 10% in online sales and about 4% in in-store sales from last year’s Black Friday as a sign of economic resilience.
“I think the folks who were saying, ‘Wow, maybe people are going to be anxious about going back and getting presents for the kids’ and so on, they have been disproven this weekend,” he told CBS’ Nancy Cordes in a Sunday interview on “Face the Nation.”
The White House has repeatedly dismissed warnings that its aggressive tariff policy could hinder economic growth amid rising costs, a weakening job market and economic uncertainty.
Preliminary data on Black Friday spending could signal that consumers remain confident even as a majority of Americans blame the Trump administration for rising grocery prices, according to new polling from POLITICO and Public First.
Still, the numbers don’t account for the rise in costs since last year’s Thanksgiving weekend. But Hassett said: “The good news around Thanksgiving is the sign of something that’s stronger to come,” arguing that strong spending underlines the economy’s ability to bounce back from a weekslong government shutdown that cost the country billions of dollars of lost activity.
“I think the reason is that incomes are up this year is, we had a great jobs report, and with strong income and the government shutdown over so that people have pent-up demand as well, I think that we’re looking at a great recovery from a weak few weeks because of the shutdown,” he told Cordes.