Conservative pundits and Fox News hosts rejoiced at reports of record Black Friday online shopping sales, praising the “Trump economy” for allowing shoppers to spend even more money this year.
Those conservative figures ranging from a GOP congressman to Fox Business Network panelists praised President Donald Trump Saturday after Adobe Analytics data Black Friday spending hit a new $5.4 billion record, up more than 22 percent from last year. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk claimed consumers saw through the supposed efforts of mainstream media to “scare” the U.S. into a recession, and instead turned out in droves to spend exorbitant amounts of money on holiday gifts, primarily through online shopping.
A Barron’s Roundtable panel on Fox Business Network Saturday urged consumers to spend even more money on Cyber Monday, which Adobe predicted will hit $9.4 billion in sales, an 18.9 percent increase from last year.
“BOOM: The ‘experts’ on the MSM tried to scare us into a recession But consumers aren’t buying it. Thanksgiving shoppers spent a record $4.1 BILLION—up 14% over last year Black Friday spending is up 22% to a record high of $5.4B This is the Trump economy at work!” Kirk, the TPUSA president, remarked on Twitter Saturday morning.
“HUGE! Consumer confidence in’s economy is at a level that hasn’t been seen in twenty years!” the Trump War Room Twitter account blared earlier this week.
“If you look at the Trump economy, the hottest in the world, it’s creating that opportunity for Americans each and every day,” Florida GOP congressman Matt Gaetz tweeted Friday after an appearance on Fox News.
Many Trump critics had compared the Black Friday praise to former President George W. Bush urging Americans to go shopping following the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Fox News contributor and Fox Business Network host Charles Payne, speaking on Neil Cavuto’s show Saturday, bragged that U.S. malls are “packed” despite some conservative outlets, including The Drudge Report, expressing concern that brick-and-mortar shopping centers may be empty this weekend because e-commerce services such as Amazon had taken over the holiday.
Kirk was not alone in his accusation that so-called mainstream media news outlets and Democratic opponents wanted to spark a recession. A Townhall columnist even penned an essay mapping out how attempts to ruin the economy and consumerism date back to “leftist heroes” Fidel Castro and Che Guevara.
Some conservative outlets, including The Drudge Report expressed concern in the lead-up to Black Friday that malls would be empty due to e-commerce services such as Amazon taking over the retail holiday. “Black Friday Flat? Macy’s Ghost, Town Crowds Thin Out,” lamented Matt Drudge’s aggregate site Saturday morning.
Black Friday spending hit a new record of $5.4 billion, up 22.3% from a year ago, according to data pulled from Adobe Analytics, which measures transactions from 80 of the top 100 U.S. online retailers. Total spending is still expected to hit $7.6 billion, second biggest behind $7.9 billion spent on Cyber Monday last year.
According to Adobe, 42 percent of all online sales were soaked in by Amazon.
The Fox Business Network panelists repeatedly urged consumers to pursue “great deals” “financially savvy gifts” ahead of Cyber Monday, including one who suggested a $4,000 Chanel bag.
“It’s a holiday, a little joy, a little festivity, an actual present…get something they wouldn’t normally buy for themselves,” said one panelist of Barron’s Roundtable, remarked during the panel discussion.
The hosts touted that consumers finally “figured out” the mobile payment infrastructure and how older Americans are buying products through Apple Pay and online credit card usage.
Social media jokes throughout the week quipped that “Trump gave us Thanksgiving back,” after the president had claimed leftist activists were trying to change the name of the holiday, as reported by Fox News.
