Kevin Hassett Defends Trump’s Leadership, Says Patriotism Is Keeping Inflation At Bay

White House Economic Advisor Kevin Hassett said on Monday that President Donald Trump’s tariffs are not leading to inflation because of "patriotism" buying.

In an interview with CNBC, Hassett said there is a “lot of patriotism” in the data, referring to the lower-than-expected monthly inflation print despite President Trump’s tariff policies.

Hassett also referred to a recent report that showed prices of imported goods declined between December and May.  

“My theory, as an economist, of why that is, is that Americans, because of President Trump’s leadership, have recognized that when they buy an American product, they not only get perhaps a better product, certainly a better product most of the time, but they’re also making their community stronger,” Hassett said.

He also said that countries exporting goods to the U.S. are absorbing the tariff costs themselves instead of passing them on to buyers in the United States.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.1% in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, following a similar rise in April. This was lower than the estimated 0.2% rise for the month.

On an annual basis, core CPI rose 2.8% in May, lower than an estimated 2.9%.

However, a Federal Reserve report in June noted that it is still early to assess the impact of Trump’s tariffs on inflation, reinforcing Chair Jerome Powell’s wait-and-watch approach on rate cuts.

Powell’s stance has invited brickbats from President Donald Trump, who has called for his resignation multiple times.

On the other hand, U.S. equities shrugged off concerns about President Trump escalating the tariff war.

At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, gained 0.21%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rose 0.43%. Stocktwits data shows retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF has been in the ‘bullish’ territory over the past week.

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