National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett challenged the credibility of Fox News polling during a Sunday appearance on “The Sunday Briefing,” arguing that the network’s surveys inaccurately reflect economic sentiment by oversampling Democratic respondents.
The underlying reporting is available from uk.news.yahoo.com.
Host Peter Doocy opened the segment by presenting Fox News data indicating that only 23% of U.S. voters view the economy as “excellent or good,” with 62% citing grocery prices as a major personal burden. Hassett dismissed these figures, stating, “Polls, over and over again, harm impressions about the economy because they poll way too many Democrats.” He argued that partisan bias drives negative survey results, contrasting them with his assessment of a “very strong economy” characterized by low inflation.
When pressed on the administration’s economic narrative, Hassett pointed to recent GDP growth and historically low unemployment insurance claims. According to the Associated Press, weekly unemployment claims have remained within a 200,000 to 230,000 range. However, economic indicators present a mixed picture: while the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported consumer prices rose 3.4% year-over-year, Hassett specifically defended administration performance by citing anecdotal grocery price decreases. This conflicts with broader federal data, which showed beef prices increased 7.9% year-over-year as of August.
The exchange highlights ongoing tensions regarding how economic data is interpreted and communicated during the 2026 midterm election cycle. While the Trump administration emphasizes GDP and employment metrics, independent reporting from PBS notes that recent declines in drug prices—an issue the White House credits to its own policy—are attributed by experts to both increased market competition and legislation enacted during the Biden administration.