Hassett says on negative polling on economy: ‘I just don’t buy it’

Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said Sunday that he doesn’t believe in recent polls that show Americans’ negative feelings about the economy.

“Ahead of an election cycle, the fact that there’s, you know, possibly partisan pollsters telling us that the people are really really depressed, it’s a classic Democrat move, and I just don’t buy it,” Hassett told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”

“Because if it were true, if the polls were any value for thinking about what’s going on with consumers, then we should look at the consumption data and say, ‘Geez, yeah, that’s right. People aren’t spending.’ But, in fact, the retailers are doing well,” he added.

Republicans are facing multiple political challenges as the midterms approach, with issues like the unpopular Iran war and tariffs. The Iran war has especially hit Americans hard at the pump, with the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the oil industry, closed amid the conflict.

Gas has consistently topped an average of $4 in the U.S. amid the Iran war, according to AAA , with the average price of a gallon of regular gas in the country at $4.37 on Sunday morning.

In a recent Quinnipiac University poll, 62 percent of respondents said they were against President Trump’s handling of the economy.

Another survey , from The Associated Press/NORC Research Center, found 65 percent of respondents said the president’s policies are behind high prices, more than other economic drivers. Over half of respondents in that poll also said the national economy, and the U.S. overall, had been worse off since the president came back to the White House.

Trump’s overall approval rating, according to a polling average from Decision Desk HQ , is also quite low, sitting at 38.5 percent on Sunday morning.