Top Trump official gets slammed with reality check over Thanksgiving costs

One of President Donald Trump’s top economic advisers was hit with a brutal fact check on Sunday while touting low prices ahead of Thanksgiving.

ABC’s Jonathan Karl on Sunday asked Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, about Trump’s false claims that Thanksgiving meals are 25% cheaper now than they were a year ago under former President Joe Biden. Hassett responded by referencing Walmart’s Thanksgiving package that Trump has repeatedly boasted about despite it including fewer brand-name items and six fewer items overall.

“So, the president claims that Thanksgiving costs are down 25 percent. I mean, does he know that’s not true?” Karl asked on ABC’s “This Week.”

“Well, if you look at Walmart and the few places that put out their prices, Thanksgiving prices—,” Hassett responded before being cut off with a fact check.

“Wait a minute, I got to stop because the Walmart comparison’s like not a thing. I mean, Walmart had a Thanksgiving package last year. They’ve got a Thanksgiving package this year. The one this year contains much less than what the one last year it took. So that’s why the price is less,” he said.

He explained that last year’s Walmart package had 21 products, while this year’s includes just 15.

“There’s more generic brand stuff,” Karl said. “So, I mean, Thanksgiving—if you’re going to the store to buy groceries for Thanksgiving, it’s going to be more expensive this year.”

Hassett responded by blaming Biden for the high prices before Karl noted: “He’s not president. Donald Trump’s president.”

“No, you want us to fix the hole that Joe Biden dug right away,” Hassett responded.

Walmart says its 2025 Thanksgiving meal serves 10 people for $40, or $4 per person. Last year, the retail giant offered a Thanksgiving kit that would serve eight people for $56, a per-person average of $7.

But Trump has not acknowledged that Walmart changed both the meal’s composition and branding from 2024 to 2025.