As the Dow Jones hit an all‑time high this week, consumer sentiment surveys registered near‑record lows. Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, told Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation that the gap suggests sentiment is being driven by politics rather than pocketbook economics.
Hassett argued, “we should stop calling it consumer sentiment and start calling it political sentiment, because it’s really a political variable.” He made the comment while discussing how market performance and public survey responses can diverge when political views affect how people answer questions about the economy.
In short, Hassett’s point was that measures labeled ‘consumer sentiment’ may reflect political feelings at the moment as much as — or more than — consumers’ economic expectations or financial circumstances.