Ex-Trump aide warns White House is trying to 'gaslight' Americans on economy
Former White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews made the accusation during an appearance on MS Now02:02 ET, 04 Aug 2026Donald Trump's former White House deputy press secretary is speaking out against. . .
Former White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews made the accusation during an appearance on MS Now02:02 ET, 04 Aug 2026Donald Trump's former White House deputy press secretary is speaking out against the current administration for its handling of the economy. Sarah Matthews, who served as Trump's deputy White House press secretary for slightly over half a year from June 2020 to January 2021, accused the current Trump administration ofgaslighting the American publicabout thestate of the economy. Her remarks come as Trump battles withlow approval ratings, largely in response to the state of the economy, which has worsened amid the Iran war launched by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, just months away from the November midterms. Trump's former spokesperson compared his approach to the economy to that of the former Biden administration, whom Trump officials have repeatedly blamed for the current state of the world, insinuating that it inherited problems created by Biden as well as former Democratic President Barack Obama. Article continues below“Republicans spent years mocking the Biden administration for trying to gaslight the American people and telling them that the economy was great when people were feeling the exact opposite. And they clearly learned nothing from this because this is exactly what the Trump administration is doing,” Matthews said Friday on MS NOW’s “Deadline: White House” with Nicolle Wallace. She went on to paint current financial turmoil in the U. S. as being "self-inflicted" by Trump because of the Iran war and his "asinine" tariffs," which she argued have left the American people feeling "bamboozled. "“They voted for President Trump because he said that he was going to lower prices on day one. He said that he was going to be the peace president. He said he was going to do all these things, and it turns out that he’s done the exact opposite,” she said. “And so it is just a slap in the face to the people that put him into office and that have supported him for them to continue to try to gaslight them. She said in growing anger, “They’re trying to gaslight their voters and tell them, ‘Everything’s fine,’ putting [National Economic Council Director] Kevin Hassett out there and having him go on the news and say that the economy is amazing. I mean, are you kidding me?”Matthew's remarks about Hassett come a day after the chief of the National Economic Council, a federal body created in the 1990s under former President Bill Clinton to coordinate domestic and international economic policy, claimed the economy was "amazing. "Hassett made the bold claim about the state of the economy during a recent appearance on CNN, where he dismissed the outlet'spollfindings that Americans believe the nation's financial health is poor or somewhat poor. “Well, again, right now the economy does look amazing to me. The inflation’s going down, the unemployment rate is low,” he said. “When you’ve got strong consumption growth, like we’re seeing right now, then consumers are by definition very optimistic. They’re not being cautious at all. So I just don’t believe that poll. "Article continues belowJust last week, the president also argued at length about how tariffs were improving the economy while speaking to a crowd at General Motors’s Milford Proving Ground in Michigan.