Black Friday, holiday shopping hits record spending as Trump advisor credits policies

There is no war on Christmas this year, according to one of president Donald Trump’s top economic advisers, who touted strong consumer spending during the biggest days of the holiday shopping season.

“The reality is we just had the best Black Friday we’ve ever had,” Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told “Fox & Friends” on Sunday. “And it’s not just because people are borrowing their credit cards, it’s because incomes have gone up so much under President Trump.”

“[Incomes] About $3,000 per person — $6,000 per family — fell under Joe Biden, and it’s gone. [$1,500] person so far this year. With all this extra money and with the government shutdown over, people are feeling comfortable getting back into stores, as we have a real explosion of Thanksgiving and Christmas coming our way.

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Hassett was responding to an article in Atlantic Titled “Donald Trump’s War on Christmas,” it placed the blame on the president and his policies — reporting that the average family is expected to spend $132 more this year on taxes, rent, co-pays, mortgages, car payments and utilities.

“Holiday shoppers may not notice that things are becoming less merry and bright,” The Atlantic wrote on Thursday.

Last week’s Black Friday generated $11.8 billion in online sales — up 9.1% year over year to set a new single-day record — and another $6.4 billion on Thanksgiving Day, Adobe Analytics and the Associated Press reported.

Cyber ​​Monday is expected to generate more spending — up 6.3% from last year to $14.2 billion online — exceeding Adobe’s expectations and underscoring how prepared shoppers are for this holiday season.

Meanwhile, a Deloitte Holiday 2025 survey found that 82% of consumers plan to shop between Thanksgiving and Cyber ​​Monday — up from 79% last year — although average planned spending per shopper fell 4% to $622.

“I think all retailers expect online and in-store sales to be the highest we’ve ever seen,” Hassett confirmed. “The important point is that this is happening even though inflation has fallen a lot under President Trump.”

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He added: “It was 5% or 10% under Biden, and now it is about 2.5%. It is much less than wage growth, right? So people’s income is rising more than inflation, and that is why we are seeing these massive sales.”

President appears to have celebrated ‘Trump shock’ hitting Black Friday – Cyber ​​Monday, taking to Truth Social overnight To publish a news article Titled “Black Friday Spending Rises as 2025 Heads into Trillion-Dollar Q1 Season.”

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