Trump economic chief Hassett calls affordability crisis a 'myth' a week before midterms

Kevin Hassett, who directs President Donald Trump's National Economic Council, called the affordability crisis a myth in a Fox Business interview on Monday. He said Americans are $1 trillion better off than when President Trump took office. The remarks came eight days before the Nov. 3 midterm election ¹².

Hassett said consumer spending data contradicts the idea of a crisis. The topic came up after host Larry Kudlow noted that many Americans are struggling with high gas prices. Kudlow called the burden temporary and tied it to the effort to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions, and Hassett agreed ¹².

The amount of consumption per household has gone up maybe around $5,000 per household

What the numbers show

Hassett's case rests on totals. The Commerce Department says total personal income is up 7.3 percent since January 2025, to $27.6 trillion. Spending is up 9.3 percent, to $22.3 trillion. Consumer prices are up about 6.1 percent over the same stretch ¹.

Other measures look worse. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that inflation reached 3.7 percent in September, up from 3.4 percent in August. In September, hourly pay rose 0.1 percent while prices rose 0.6 percent ¹.

From Channel GOPTrump on the Alaska ballot and the DOJ suitDonald Trump · 214 plays · captioned, with the source named

Gas is a big part of that. AAA says the national average is $4.27 a gallon for regular, up from about $3 before the Iran war began in late February. Hassett said gas prices would "drop like a rock soon" ¹.

Economists push back

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, called affordability "a serious problem for the majority of Americans." He said overall spending has held up mainly because wealthy households are doing well. Moody's research from 2025 found the top 10 percent of earners account for roughly half of consumer spending ¹.

After inflation, wages are falling, personal saving rates are low, and borrowing costs are on the rise

That matters because an average can hide what most families live with. If a small group spends far more, the total rises even when a typical household is cutting back. A New York Fed study published in May found that recent growth in retail spending came mostly from high-income households ¹.

Surveys tell a different story

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index stood at 48.0 in October, near its all-time low. Its measure of current conditions, 46.7, was the second lowest on record ¹.

A Harris Poll for The Guardian, fielded Sept. 24 to Oct. 3 among 3,998 adults, found 96 percent of Republicans agreed the country is in an affordability crisis. Of all those surveyed, 67 percent said high grocery and gas prices were a central issue in the midterms ¹.

Trump has also dismissed the issue. At the Republican National Convention in September he said of Democrats' use of the word: "It's fake." Earlier this month, though, he told Gray Television that affordability is a big issue and blamed his predecessor ¹.

What happens next

Voters will weigh Hassett's claim against their own grocery and fuel bills when they vote on Nov. 3. The articles we reviewed did not include a response from a Democratic official. Commentators on social media mocked the remark, including former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh, who called it "One heck of a closing argument" ³.

The Record

1. Sep 24, 2026Harris Poll for The Guardian begins fielding; 96 percent of Republicans surveyed agree the U.S. is in an affordability crisis ¹.
2. Oct 26, 2026Hassett tells Fox Business the affordability crisis is 'a myth' and that gas prices will fall soon ¹².

Sources

1. Newsweek, “Trump Economic Chief Says Affordability Crisis Is 'a Myth': What Data Shows” (2026-10-27). newsweek.com/trump-economic-chief-says-affordability-crisis-
2. Mediaite (via Yahoo News), “Trump Econ Chief Insists 'Affordability Crisis' Is 'Myth' 8 Days Before Midterms” (2026-10-26). yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-econ-chief-insists-af
3. Raw Story, “Trump's top economic adviser ridiculed after bashing 'myth': 'That should do it'” (2026-10-26). rawstory.com/kevin-hassett-2678148046/

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.