'I've Gotta Stop You': Jon Karl Interrupts Kevin Hassett's Regurgitation About Cheaper Thanksgiving Dinner

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: MEDIAite

Nov 16th, 2025, 5:03 pm


ABC News’s Jon Karl stopped Trump economist Kevin Hassett mid-sentence Sunday as he started regurgitating the claim that Thanksgiving dinner is cheaper than it was under former President Joe Biden. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump claimed, “Grocery prices are way down, and Walmart just announced that the cost of their standard Thanksgiving meal — this is the greatest, their greatest. It is 25% lower than one year ago. That’s a big deal.”

When an NBC News reporter informed the president that Walmart based this year’s estimate on fewer products, Trump called it “fake news.”

On This Week, Karl asked Hassett, “So, the president claims that Thanksgiving costs are down 25 %. I mean, does he know that’s not true?” “Well, if you look at Walmart and the few places that put out their prices —” Hassett began when Karl interrupted.

“Now, but wait a minute, wait a minute, I’ve gotta stop you, cause the Walmart comparison is not a — 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 — that’s why the price is less. Look, we’ve got a chart here!” Karl explained that Walmart compared 21 products last year to 15 this year.

Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/ive-gotta-stop-you-jon-karl-interrupts-kevin-hassetts-regurgitation-about-cheaper-thanksgiving-dinner/

[progree]

1. HASSETT: "Inflation is about half what it was in December. This is something that's being fixed fast"

Last edited Mon Nov 17, 2025, 11:26 AM - Edit history (1)

Above is from the OP's linked MEDIAite article

Sigh. I guess this calls for the graphs again --

12 month aka year-over-year - the usual media/pundit measure of inflation



CPI data series: https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SA0
Click on "More Formatting Options", and on the page that appears,
Check the checkbox: "12-Month Percent Change"

YEAR: Jan Feb Mar etc. etc.
2024: 3.1 3.2 3.5 3.4 3.2 3.0 2.9 2.6 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.9
2025: 3.0 2.8 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.7 2.7 2.9 3.0


So in December'24 it was 2.9%, and in September'25 (the latest data) it was 3.0%. That's quite different than "about half" and "being fixed fast".

What's highlighted is that this measure has been rising for 5 straight months.

News report from the source: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
CPI data series: https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SA0
CORE CPI data series: http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUSR0000SA0L1E

========

Over the last 3 months, inflation has averaged an annualized 3.6% rate -- comparing the CPI index in September over its June value, and annualizing it. Just like what is commonly done in the quarterly GDP reports with both GDP and the GDP deflator.

Regular CPI


The rolling 3 month annualized average is slightly higher in September'25 (the latest data) than it was in December'24.: 3.54% in December'24 and 3.62% in September'25.

On a month-over-month basis, it is slightly lower -- using the actual index numbers for the calculation, it was 0.36% in December'24 and 0.31% in September'25, which is not "about half of what it was in December". It is 0.86 of what it was in December'24 -- about 7/8.

(The bar graph are the annualized numbers, not the actual raw month-over-month percent changes presented in the above paragraph)

But what the BLS and the media present in their main narratives and tables for month-over-month are rounded figures: 0.4% in December'24 and 0.3% in September'25. With the favorable rounding (Biden's number gets rounded up while tRump's number gets rounded down ) September'25 is 3/4 of what it was in December'24, not "about half"

You be the judge about the "being fixed fast" part.

Note to myself: the usual tiresome presentation: https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3563862

[70sEraVet]

2. People who actually go shopping know that they're paying more for less.

Beef, coffee and chocolate are MUCH higher than last year. Canned goods (soup!), produce and cereal are high.
The ONLY thing that's come down are eggs -- the industry is still recovering from the bird flu epidemic.
I just bought our turkey for Thanksgiving. I saw a store that had them for $.88 per pound and grabbed one. Probably as cheap as I'll find anywhere.

[PatSeg]

12. Exactly

People KNOW what they pay for necessities and saying the price is lower does not make it so or "fake news". That's some major hypnosis trick to convince millions of people that that gallon of milk is cheaper than it was a year ago.

[flashman13]

22. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor when I saw chuck roast at $8.99/lb.

[70sEraVet]

23. The odd thing is, I haven't noticed the price of lamb going up at all (yet)!

So I can pick up lamb chops, or at least shoulder chops, at the same price as chuck or bottom round roast!
I'm also a big fan of 10 bags of chicken quarters -- cook a third of it and put two 1/3 bags in the freezer. A 10 pound bag goes for $8 or $9 bucks.

[flashman13]

25. This is just a guess, but the sheep market is much smaller and is probably not in the hands of big ag processors so

they are not gouging on their prices.

[70sEraVet]

26. I just know that almost all lamb sold in this country comes from Australia

Maybe some from New Zealand. I haven't checked on the current (ever changing) tariff list!

[Tetrachloride]

3. i don't buy meat at walmart

[wolfie001]

14. I never set foot in a WakMart and never will

Me? retired Union grocery. I saw the slow-moving disaster WakMart unleashed on America 1st hand since the early '90s. Racist, anti-Union family (any businesses and CEOs who fund the rePUKE party or candidates are racist a-holes. "You-know-who" sitting on their board of directors kinda pissed me off too). Horrific people. Sorry if that's your only choice or you have few choices. I'm in Maryland and only shop Union grocery.

[Wednesdays]

19. We get the majority of our stuff at Costco.

Most of the rest is bought at ALDI. If it's not at Costco or ALDI, then Target as a last resort. Walmart is a rarity.

[wolfie001]

20. Great!

Avoid them like the plague if possible. I know people need to feed their families and that's most important. I'm a bit on the poorish side but I can manage to shop Union. I've learned so much in the kitchen just to save $. Cheers

[MarcoZandrini]

4. Let these...

….liars continue to lie. People know that prices are up. They see that their budgets are getting stretched every day. Eventually these people will realize that the Reptilicans have been lying and stealing their money.

[Ray Bruns]

5. Boy, when republicans get a good lie they're like a dog with a bone. Aren't they?

[erronis]

16. Johnny One Notes.

[twodogsbarking]

6. In retail this is known as a "loss leader", like Trump.

[Paladin]

7. Thank you, Jon Karl.

Nice to see something other than a complacent, trump-sucking national media. Doesn't happen anywhere near often enough.

[wolfie001]

15. He has evolved

Albeit a bit slowly.

[Paladin]

17. Hey, I'll take slow evolution over no evolution, every time.

The mainstream media has such a lot to answer for. I hope history is brutally unkind to all the trump media enablers---we've paid a huge (maybe fatal) price, just so their news reports could write themselves with minimal effort.

[wolfie001]

18. Yes! A thousand times! Yes!

[mwb970]

8. They're all shameless liars.

The whole Fascist Party has no function except to suck hard on trump 24/7. No wonder they are unpopular and lose every election! I mean, come on.

[Bluetus]

27. Every word was a lie. Kudos for the ABC guy to fact check part of it,

but if he fact-checked every lie, they would have only time for about 3 sentences from this clown.

I suggest that if the major media thinks it is worthwhile to put these serial liars on their air, then they should plan another block of time (without the liar on the microphone) immediately after the interview to correct the lies. If they started to do that, then there would be more of an incentive for everyone to tell the truth.

[KS Toronado]

9. How long before IQ4.7 sues over Jon Karl's remarks?

[travelingthrulife]

11. And the he'll carpet bomb all Walmarts for making him look bad.

[marble falls]

10. An inconvenient truth: what will dump TACO in the end. If undocumented are bringing cattle into the US, it would LOWER..

... prices, not raise them.

[chouchou]

13. Look, we've got a chart here! Tsk tsk.

Right wingers do not like charts. Charts usually tell the whole story. Not a good thing for Republicans,

[Redleg]

28. But they do love the electoral map by county

because it makes them feel that most of the landmass is Republican.

[chouchou]

29. Your words are true!

[Redleg]

30. I do try!

It seems like a form of therapy to try to tell the truth in these times when lies get ignored.

[BobTheSubgenius]

21. An OLD expression that applies to so many subjects these days.

It certainly applies here. "Figures don't lie, but liars can figure."

[spinbaby]

24. Aldi has a package, too

Supposedly $40 to feed ten people Thanksgiving dinner, except it doesn’t include things like butter, eggs, milk, and pumpkin pie spices. Also, only one pie for ten people.