Kevin Hassett: This is a ‘MYTH’

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: LET'S BRING IN MY GREAT PAL, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR, KEVIN ASSETT. KEVIN, GOOD TO SEE YOU. SO LET ME PICK UP WHERE MY BRILLIANT PANELISTS LEFT OFF. AND MY DISCUSSION YESTERDAY, STATE OF THE ECONOMY. ALL RIGHT, LET ME PLAY SOME -- HERE'S MR. TRUMP ON THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY. IT'S NOT LIKE YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THIS BEFORE, KEVIN ASSETT. BUT LET ME PLAY SOME TAPE FROM YESTERDAY'S INTERVIEW. HERE IT COMES. LISTEN, THE ECONOMY, SIR, IS BOOMING. I KNOW YOU SAY THIS, THE HOTTEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD. I SAW A NUMBER A COUPLE DAYS AGO, RETAIL SALES, SAME STORE SALES, UP ALMOST 10% YEAR-ON-YEAR. IT'S THE FASTEST IN DECADE. I KNOW WHEN THE MEDIA TALKS ABOUT THE ECONOMY, SIR, ALL THEY TALK ABOUT IS GASOLINE PRICES. PEOPLE ARE WORKING. THEY'RE SPENDING. THEY'RE INVESTING. [00:00:49] Speaker 2: WE HAVE $22.2 TRILLION COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES. IF CHINA GETS 2 OR 3 TRILLION, OH, AND BIDEN, HE DID A HALF A TRILLION FOR FOUR YEARS. I'M DOING 22.2 IN 15 MONTHS. IT'S UP TO THE 15 MONTH POINT. [00:01:06] Speaker 1: IT'S A GREAT MESSAGE. I MEAN, AND I THINK -- WELL, I GIVE IT ALL THE TIME, BUT NOBODY WANTS TO WRITE. [00:01:10] Speaker 2: NOBODY WANTS TO WRITE ANYTHING POSITIVE. THERE'S MORE. ALL THEY SAY IS GASOLINE IS HIGH. BY THE WAY, THE GASOLINE -- YES, RIGHT. THE GASOLINE WILL DROP LIKE A ROCK. [00:01:20] Speaker 1: AND THERE'S MORE TO IT THAN JUST GASOLINE, EVEN THOUGH THE MEDIA ONLY WRITES ABOUT GASOLINE. THE PRESIDENT IS ON HIS GAME. KEVIN HASSETT, WELCOME BACK, AS ALWAYS. I JUST -- I DON'T WANT -- LOOK, I UNDERSTAND GASOLINE PRICES ARE A PROBLEM FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE. I GET THAT. I ALSO BELIEVE IT'S TEMPORARY AND NECESSARY. AS THE PRESIDENT HAS SAID A MILLION TIMES, WE HAVE TO STOP IRAN'S NUCLEARIZATION. BUT, KEVIN, OTHER STUFF IN THE ECONOMY, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE ACTUAL FACTS, THE STATISTICS THAT YOU RELY ON AND I RELY ON, AND ANYBODY IN OUR JOB AT THE NEC OR THE CEA WHO HAD ANY OUNCE OF CREDIBILITY AND CHARACTER, RELIES ON ACTUAL NUMBERS, THIS ECONOMY IS BOOMING. I'M SORRY. YOU MAY LIKE TRUMP. YOU MAY NOT LIKE MR. TRUMP. BUT THE FACT IS, KEVIN, THE ECONOMY IS BOOMING AND HIGH GASOLINE PRICES, ALTHOUGH THEY ARE A DIFFICULTY FOR SOME PEOPLE, THAT IS NOT STOPPING THE BOOM. THAT'S THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT, KEVIN HASSETT. [00:02:18] Kevin Hassett: YEAH, YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT, LARRY. AND THE WAY I LIKE TO LOOK AT IT IS THAT YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, CORRECTING FOR CHANGES IN PRICES, YOU CAN LOOK AT REAL CONSUMPTION WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMP TOOK OFFICE AND THEN REAL CONSUMPTION FOR AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS IN AGGREGATE. YOU KNOW, IT'S THE GDP NUMBERS, WHAT WE'RE GETTING NOW. AND THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT AMERICANS ARE CONSUMING A TRILLION DOLLARS MORE. THE AMOUNT OF CONSUMPTION PER HOUSEHOLD HAS GONE UP MAYBE AROUND $5,000 PER HOUSEHOLD. THAT'S AFTER INFLATION BECAUSE OF THE INCOME BOOM, THE CAPITAL SPENDING BOOM, THE FACT THAT PEOPLE AREN'T LOSING THEIR JOBS, ALL THE THINGS THAT HAVE MADE THE ECONOMY GREAT MEANS THAT AFFORDABILITY CRISIS, IT'S A MYTH. I'M SURE THEY CAN TALK ABOUT GASOLINE, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S RIGHT, THAT IT'S GOING TO DROP LIKE A ROCK SOON. BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS IF YOU ADJUST FOR INFLATION, YOU ADJUST FOR CHANGES IN PRICES, THAT AMERICANS ARE A TRILLION DOLLARS BETTER OFF THAN THEY WERE WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMP TOOK OFFICE. I THINK THE WHOLE IDEA ABOUT AFFORDABILITY THE WAY THEY'RE PRESENTING IT IS INCONSISTENT WITH THE DATA. [00:03:19] Speaker 1: KEVIN, WE ARE GETTING ON A MONTHLY BASIS NOW. IT'S ALL YEAR LONG. MANUFACTURING IS RECOVERING. MANUFACTURING JOBS ARE RECOVERING. CONSTRUCTION AND OTHER GOODS PRODUCING JOBS ARE RECOVERING. SCOTT BESSENT WAS OUT TODAY WITH A TWEET ON THIS. YOU WERE SPEAKING TO JACKIE HINRICH I BELIEVE YESTERDAY ABOUT THE SAME SUBJECT. IT'S VERY DIFFICULT NOT TO JUDGE THIS ECONOMY AS THE BEST IN THE WORLD, THE HOTTEST IN THE WORLD. THERE'S A REASON WHY PEOPLE ARE INVESTING HERE. I USED TO CALL IT THE GLOBAL RACE FOR CAPITAL. INVESTORS GO WHERE THEIR MONEY IS TREATED MOST HOSPITABLY. THAT IS THE UNITED STATES. WE HAVE LOW TAXES, LOW REGULATIONS. WE ARE THE ENERGY CENTER OF THE WORLD. WE HAVE RECIPROCAL TRADE POLICIES. AND IT'S WORKING, KEVIN. A YEAR OR SO AFTER THE ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL, IT'S WORKING. AND THAT'S WHY I ENCOURAGE THE PRESIDENT YESTERDAY IN THE INTERVIEW, YOU KNOW, KEEP HAMMERING AWAY ON THAT IN THE LAST WEEK. HE DESERVES CREDIT BECAUSE CREDIT IS DUE. [00:04:21] Kevin Hassett: HE IS. HE IS. HE IS. HE IS. HE IS. [00:04:26] Speaker ?: HE IS. [00:04:26] Kevin Hassett: HE IS. HE IS. HE IS. HE IS. THE OTHER THING TO THINK ABOUT IS THAT ALL THIS CAPITAL, IT'S FUTURE GROWTH AND GDP. WE ARE NOT BUILDING FACTORIES AND PRESIDENT TRUMP TOOK OFFICE. THINK ABOUT IT. THAT'S AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU HAVE IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN FOOTBALL STADIUM. THEY ARE ALL OUT THERE BUILDING FACTORIES AND THOSE FACTORIES WILL GIVE JOBS TO AMERICANS AND BID UP WAGES FOR AMERICANS COMING DOWN THE ROAD. THE ONE THING YOU SAID EARLIER THAT I JUST HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH IS I WAS JUST IN THE OVAL LAST WEEK WITH THE PRESIDENT AND HE IS NOT LOOKING TIRED AT ALL. HE IS LOOKING FIRED UP. HE ACTUALLY LIKE HE IS IN THE GAME AND HE SEES THE NUMBERS AND HE IS WORKING HARDER THAN ANY PRESIDENT THAT ANY OF US HAVE EVER SEEN. HE DOESN'T LOOK TIRED AT ALL BUT I CAN TELL YOU HE DOES TEST NEC DIRECTORS AS YOU MENTIONED. SO HE SAID HOW DO I THINK THE ECONOMY IS DOING? HE IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH. [00:05:12] Speaker 1: KEVIN MY WORD WAS NO, NO. I SAID HE WAS INDEPATICABLE. ONE OF THE OTHER PEOPLE SAID HE MIGHT HAVE LOOKED A LITTLE TIRED. HE IS OUT THERE DOING WHAT HE HAS TO DO. HE IS OUT THERE DOING WHAT HE HAS TO DO. HE IS OUT THERE DOING WHAT HE HAS TO DO. HE IS OUT THERE DOING WHAT HE HAS TO DO. HE IS OUT THERE DOING WHAT HE HAS TO DO. HE IS OUT THERE DOING WHAT HE HAS TO DO.