Joe Kernen pressed White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett on CNBC’s Squawk Box, arguing that the administration’s claim that “prices are falling” conflicts with many Americans’ experience. Kernen noted real wages fell about $5,000 during the Biden years and that current 3% inflation stacks on prior increases. Hassett countered that purchasing power is up roughly $1,200 this year and defended policy steps on costs. The discussion also touched on tariffs, Obamacare subsidies, Fed independence and the optics of a privately funded $300 million White House ballroom.
Kernen Challenges Kevin Hassett: Are 'Falling' Prices a Misleading Claim?
Joe Kernen pressed White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett on CNBC’s Squawk Box, arguing that the administration’s claim that “prices are falling” conflicts with many Americans’ experience. Kernen noted real wages fell about $5,000 during the Biden years and that current 3% inflation stacks on prior increases. Hassett countered that purchasing power is up roughly $1,200 this year and defended policy steps on costs. The discussion also touched on tariffs, Obamacare subsidies, Fed independence and the optics of a privately funded $300 million White House ballroom.
01:37 AM, 11/18/2025Economy
CNBC’s Joe Kernen Presses Kevin Hassett on Whether ‘Prices Are Falling’ Reflects Reality
On Monday’s Squawk Box, CNBC host Joe Kernen pressed White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, to acknowledge that the administration’s repeated claim that “prices are falling” does not match the lived experience of many Americans.
Wages, inflation and the perception gap
Kernen cited polling that suggests many voters do not feel inflation has eased enough to lower everyday costs. He argued that real average weekly wages fell by about $5,000 during the Biden years due to inflation and noted that current headline inflation of roughly 3% adds further upward pressure to prices already elevated from prior years.
“When you keep saying prices are falling, that’s not true because inflation is still— the 3% is on top of all the inflation we had during the Biden years,” Kernen said. “I think you should admit that.”
Hassett’s rebuttal: purchasing power and policy wins
Hassett rejected Kernen’s framing, saying recent data show purchasing power has increased this year by about $1,200. He described the post-pandemic economy as people climbing out of a roughly $3,000 hole and pointed to wage gains and administration measures he said were intended to reduce consumer costs—including efforts related to auto loans and health insurance.
Hassett also criticized the implementation of Obamacare subsidies, arguing they largely benefited insurers and contributed to rising premiums. “It’s kind of astonishing to me that the cost problem is somehow being blamed on us,” he said.
Tariffs, trade and the Fed
Kernen pressed whether reversing some tariffs to improve affordability implicitly admits tariffs contributed to higher prices. Hassett pushed back, saying exemptions and trade decisions have long been used where supply-and-demand economics warranted them.
The pair then discussed Federal Reserve policy after Kernen referenced a Wall Street Journal opinion on Fed reform. Hassett defended an independent, data-driven central bank while conceding that current Fed leadership has committed “policy errors.” He stressed that a Fed chair’s job must remain nonpartisan and focused on the dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment.
Optics and a brief aside
During the interview a truck drove by and Kernen seized the moment to jab at the optics of the president’s privately funded $300 million ballroom project and the demolished East Wing. Hassett, flustered, said he could not see the site and described the East Wing as “a tiny little part of the White House.”
The exchange—covering inflation, wages, tariffs, Obamacare subsidies and the Fed—was aired on CNBC; the segment originally appeared on Mediaite.