During Tuesday’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked by Fox News reporter Peter Doocy about a recent poll from The Wall Street Journal that found that Americans are “deeply pessimistic” about the American economy.
“Why do you think it is that 83 percent of people polled by The Wall Street Journal say the economy is ‘poor’ or ‘not so good’?” Doocy asked.
“So, when it comes to consumer confidence — is what you’re talking about there — we know that can reflect concern and uncertainty about higher prices. People feel the effect of high prices when they go to the grocery store and they fill up their gas tank, which the President understands very personally — when he was growing up and understanding how — how when prices elevate even just a bit, how much that can hurt a family, how much that can really affect, you know, someone’s household,” Jean-Pierre replied. “But the fact is: We are in a fundamentally different place compared to when the President took office and compared to this time a year ago.”
“And so, you know, during this presidency, people felt uncertainty about the economy generally, but they actually felt as good about their personal financial situations as they ever have, according to the Federal Reserve survey, with nearly 80 percent of adults reporting that they are financially comfortable,” she added.
Jean-Pierre’s comments conflict with a recent Gallup poll that found that just 46% of U.S. adults rated their financial situation positively, down from 57% last year. The number is “the lowest since 2015, though somewhat better than the low points in the trend registered between 2009 and 2012 when as few as 41% rated their finances positively,” the poll said.
