Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pushed back against President Donald Trump’s dismissive tone on Americans cutting back on their holiday spending amid rising prices tied to tariffs and healthcare policy. Warren posted on X that Trump’s line ‘don’t be dramatic’ was out of touch with families facing higher costs.
She noted that 46% of Americans were spending less during peak shopping season this year due to higher prices, arguing that families are paying the price for Trump’s chaotic tariffs. Despite tariff concerns, holiday shopping shattered records, with November-December spending topping $1 trillion for the first time and projected to reach about $1.01-$1.02 trillion by month’s end.
The data also showed divergence in consumer behavior: affluent households continued to splurge, while lower-income households increasingly relied on credit and buy-now, pay-later services. Warren attributed part of the price pressure to gasoline price relief and lower mortgage rates at year’s end, which helped cushion some tariff-related impacts.