Kevin Hassett, President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser, left actor Bill Murray “a little concerned” on live TV with a smile Murray said never goes away.
Murray was on the set Monday when Hassett, the National Economic Council director, joined CNBC’s “Squawk Box” from the White House, according to video posted on X by journalist Aaron Rupar.
The interview came a day before Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Murray turned his attention to Hassett’s smile as soon as the interview began.
“Why is that man always smiling?” Murray asked.
“Oh, because I’ve been thinking about you all the time, Bill,” Hassett replied.
“I love ‘Groundhog Day,’” Hassett added, referring to Murray’s 1993 comedy.
“He’s always smiling. I’m a little concerned. Not worried. But concerned,” Murray said.
Hassett then argued that the economy is thriving even as inflation stays high.
“I think that right now the economy is hitting on all cylinders,” Hassett said, pointing to 3.4% economic growth in the third quarter.
Yet the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge rose to 3.6% in September from 3.4% in August, Fox Business reported last week.
Hassett struck the same note in March, when a jobs report showed employers unexpectedly cut 92,000 jobs in February. “The economy is really strong,” he told CNBC at the time, according to a clip Rupar posted on Bluesky.
On Oct. 26, Hassett told Fox Business that “the affordability crisis is a myth.” Each time, he answered signs of economic strain by insisting the economy is strong.
CNBC co-host Joe Kernen pressed Hassett on whether people are actually getting ahead.
“What is Hassett talking about? He’s whistling past the graveyard,” Kernen said, describing how some people react to the adviser’s claims. He added that inflation has left many people breaking even or not getting ahead.
“Well, that was just the last couple of months,” Hassett replied, before answering Kernen’s point by comparing Trump’s record with that of former President Barack Obama. He also said spending adjusted for inflation is up $5,000 per family since Trump took office.
“So they had eight years of stagnant income growth,” Hassett said of Obama’s presidency.
That account leaves out 2015, when median household income jumped 5.2%, the largest one-year increase on record, FiveThirtyEight reported at the time, citing Census Bureau data.
Kernen also noted that polls and prediction markets look bad for Republicans in Tuesday’s elections.
“I think probably the story is gonna be the polls are wrong,” Hassett said, calling the way the polls move together “suspicious.” He doubted the polls, even as he had downplayed the recent inflation figures.
Before the talk turned to the polls, Murray tested whether bad news could wipe the smile off Hassett’s face.
“I would regret it if I didn’t take this opportunity. Could you just say the words, ‘My dog just died’? I wanna see what happens to your smile,” Murray said.
“OK. My dog just died,” Hassett said, forcing a grimace.
“You did it,” Kernen said.
“It’s all right. We were gonna have someone go take your blood. We’re gonna call them off,” Murray said.
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