‘Years Around COVID’: MSNBC Analyst Really Tries To Avoid Suggesting Trump Was Good For US Economy

MSNBC’s Steve Rattner tried to avoid suggesting Wednesday former President Donald Trump was good for the U.S. economy while explaining the cost of Thanksgiving.

Rattner tried to argue the economy is doing better than polls show by saying inflation is down and can be proven within the “context” of Thanksgiving.

“So let’s take a look at the cost of a Thanksgiving this year. So 72% of Americans, according to a recent survey, thought the cost of Thanksgiving would actually be higher this year. In fact, the cost of Thanksgiving, according to the Farm Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is going to come down slightly. It’s going to go from $64.05 last year, to $61.17 this year.” (RELATED: ‘But Still’: MSNBC Analyst Touts ‘Low’ Thanksgiving Costs Before Noting How Substantially Lower They Were Under Trump)

“Now, in fairness, we did have a run-up in the kind of Covid era. It was down as low as $49. But still, this is good news,” Rattner continued. The graph on screen highlighted how the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner under the entire duration of Trump’s presidency was under $55.

Rattner then tried to show the alleged lower costs by referencing purchasing power in the measurement of hours worked.

“Another way to look at this is in terms of how much work you have to do to pay for that $61.17 Thanksgiving. And the answer is less work than any year in modern history except for the three around Covid. It took two hours and 40 minutes of work to pay for Thanksgiving back here. We’re down to two hours and six minutes at the moment. So again, relative to what people are making, Thanksgiving is getting less expensive.”

Rattner’s graph shows the number of hours needed to work to pay for Thanksgiving dinner was at its lowest in 2018, 2019 and 2020, all while Trump was in office. The number of hours needed to work has apparently steadily increased under Biden.

The average price American families will pay this year to celebrate the holiday will be the most expensive in history, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows. Turkey, bread, potatoes and desserts have seen a dramatic spike in price since Biden took office.