Kevin Hassett, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, insists that despite five months of rising prices, inflation is actually “way down.” But polls and recent election results suggest voters see things differently.

Hassett on Tuesday told CNBC, “we’re comfortable that inflation has come way down — the 5% on average, for Joe Biden.”

“It’s probably a little less than half of that right now,” he continued. “And the trajectory is really, really, really good.”

Inflation for the month of December 2024, President Joe Biden’s last full month in office, was 2.9%. It increased to 3.0% in the month of January 2025.

Inflation for the month of September 2025, the last month for which there is Bureau of Labor Statistics data, was 3.0%.

READ MORE: White House Denies Post-Election Pivot as Trump Prepares New Affordability Push

Hassett went on to say that “inflation is one of those things that has a lot of momentum, if you look at the charts…”

“Even though it’s been increasing for five straight months as of September?” CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla asked.

“Well, I guess if you look at it from January, there’s ups and downs and seasonals, but yeah, it surprised on the downside, people were expecting it to accelerate it and it didn’t.”

Economist Justin Wolfers on Tuesday appeared to mock Hassett’s claims by posting a graph.

Voters one week ago took to the polls and delivered a resounding message to Republicans and President Donald Trump. Exit polls show that voters’ number one concern was the economy and affordability, as they decided to put Democrats into office.

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And national polls show the same result: the high cost of living, the state of the economy, and affordability are all top of mind for voters, who give President Trump low marks in those areas.

One week ago on Monday, the day before the election, CNN reported, “61% of Americans think Trump has made the economy worse. Could that impact tomorrow’s elections?”

The New York Times shows President Trump’s current average approval rating is 42%, and disapproval rating is 55%.

In mid-October, CNBC reported that on the economy, Trump’s approval was “the lowest of any CNBC survey during either of Trump’s two terms.”

HASSETT: We’re comfortable that inflation has come way down

QUINTANILLA: Even though it’s been increasing for 5 straight months?

HASSETT: Well I guess there’s ups and downs and seasonals pic.twitter.com/ZyHSlqPfau

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 11, 2025

READ MORE: ‘The Whole Thing Is Imploding’: Chaos and Rebellion at America’s Top Right-Wing Think Tank

Image via Reuters

In the days following last Tuesday’s sweeping Democratic victories, Trump administration officials fanned out across news outlets to highlight the administration’s focus on affordability, assuring Americans that prices have fallen under President Donald Trump. The president himself reiterated his claim—made many times before—that grocery prices are “way down.”

Critics say that overall, prices largely have not come down, and inflation remains around 3%—roughly the same level as when President Trump took office earlier this year.

Last Wednesday, Politico reported that a person close to the White House told the news outlet that “The President hasn’t talked about the cost of living in months.”

And White House deputy chief of staff James Blair told Politico, “You’ll see the president talk a lot about cost of living as we turn … into the new year.”

READ MORE: Johnson Refuses to Commit to Key Part of Senate Shutdown Deal

But now the White House is insisting the focus has been there all along, and denies any post-election ramp up.

“It’s not something where we called a meeting Wednesday morning after the election and said, ‘We have to get stuff on the board now,’” an unnamed White House source told Politico on Tuesday. “At both a systemic level and more targeted micro examples, we have been consistently focused on addressing affordability.”

Late last week, the Associated Press confirmed the President’s new messaging focus.

“President Donald Trump is adjusting his messaging strategy to win over voters who are worried about the cost of living with plans to emphasize new tax breaks and show progress on fighting inflation,” the AP reported. “The messaging is centered around affordability, and the push comes after inflation emerged as a major vulnerability for Trump and Republicans in Tuesday’s elections, in which voters overwhelmingly said the economy was their biggest concern.”

Politico on Tuesday also noted the increase in messaging.

“In the wake of last week’s bruising off-year elections that underscored just how vulnerable the GOP is heading into 2026, Trump has announced a bevy of policies that may ease the pressure on household budgets.”

READ MORE: ‘The Whole Thing Is Imploding’: Chaos and Rebellion at America’s Top Right-Wing Think Tank

Those include a claim he will send low- and middle-income Americans $2,000 tariff dividend checks, and a deal with pharmaceutical companies to sell popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs at reduced prices.

On Sunday, he also proposed sending Americans money for health savings accounts in what appeared to be an attack on Obamacare and insurance companies.

CNBC reported on Tuesday that economists say some of these ideas “are not likely to become policy anytime soon.”

As prices remain high at grocery store checkouts, President Trump, however, has been pushing back on Americans’ affordability focus, while insisting his job is already done.

Last week, Trump “bragged that the price of Walmart’s pre-assembled Thanksgiving Dinner has been reduced by 25% this year,” a Monday USA Today opinion piece by Chris Brennan noted. Also reduced were the number of items in the meal.

“I don’t want to hear about the affordability,” Trump said on November 6, Brennan noted, as he “defended his administration’s attempts to resist a judge’s order to make full federal food assistance program payments, known as SNAP, to 42 million Americans, during the federal government shutdown.”

One day later, “Trump insisted that the recent focus on ‘affordability’ was a ‘con job’ by Democrats.”

Trump repeated his “con job” claim Monday night on Fox News, along with some other incorrect claims, such as the price of gas.

INGRAHAM: Is affordability a voter perception issue of the economy, or is there more that needs to be done by Republicans?

TRUMP: More than anything else, it’s a con job by the Democrats. Are you ready? Costs are way down. pic.twitter.com/tAPrOZXaTH

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 11, 2025

READ MORE: ‘Impossible to Lose’: Trump Pitches Strategy to Cement One-Party Rule

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is refusing to commit to a critical element of the Senate’s bipartisan agreement to end the shutdown and fund the federal government.

Eight members of the Democratic caucus on Sunday voted to advance legislation that included a promise by Senate Republicans to hold a vote on reinstating the Affordable Care Act subsidies. Without the reinstatement, millions of Americans could see their monthly premiums skyrocket, and millions are expected to lose their health insurance.

But when asked if he would hold a vote in the House to uphold the Senate Republicans’ bargain, Johnson refused to commit.

“House Speaker Mike Johnson would not guarantee a vote on Affordable Care Act subsidies, saying the House would need ‘to find a consensus’ on a proposal,” CNN’s Jim Sciutto reported on Monday.

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“We’re going to do in the House what we always do and that is a deliberative process. We’re going to have to find consensus on whatever, whatever the proposal is,” Johnson told CNN’s Manu Raju.

“As you know,” Johnson added, “I do not guarantee the outcome of legislation or dates or deadlines or anything.”

Minutes later, speaking on CNN, Johnson said of any potential vote on Affordable Care Act subsidies, “I’m not committing to it or not committing to it.”

In the most predictable development ever, Mike Johnson is not committing to hold a House vote on ACA subsidies pic.twitter.com/5vmarKed5i

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 10, 2025

READ MORE: ‘The Whole Thing Is Imploding’: Chaos and Rebellion at America’s Top Right-Wing Think Tank

Image via Reuters