If Donald Trumpโs first weeks in office were a movie, it would be a dark comedyโone where the protagonist makes grand promises, backtracks immediately, and leaves the audience wondering how things could go so wrong so fast. From stripping minority rights to launching a mass deportation plan that feels ripped from a cartoon villainโs playbook, Trumpโs early days have been anything but dull.
But perhaps the most glaring failure? His flop on a promise that hits close to home for every American: lowering grocery prices.
Yes, groceries. The very thing Trump bizarrely claimed to have โpopularizedโ as a term.
In an interview on NBCโsย Meet the Press, he boldly declared he would bring grocery prices โway down,โ even suggesting this pledge helped him win the election. Fast forward a week, and he was already walking it back. In a follow-up chat withย Time Magazine, Trump admitted that lowering food prices would be โvery hard,โ adding that once prices go up, they tend to stay up.
Cue the collective groan from Americans already feeling the pinch at the checkout line.
Not Off The Hook From His Promises
Democratic strategist James Carville hasnโt let Trump off the hook for this one. โRemember the No. 1 promise Trump made? He was going to do something about high grocery prices, specifically eggs,โ Carville reminded News Nationโs Chris Cuomo. โThen, before he even took office, he said, โWell, I canโt do anything about it.โ Thanks for the heads-up, Donald.โ
Carville argues that Democrats should hammer Trump on this broken promise, using it as a cudgel to expose his failures.
And failures, it seems, are piling up.
Twenty Democratic lawmakers, including Elizabeth Warren, recently sent Trump a scathing letter calling out his misplaced priorities.
โDuring your first week in office, you focused on mass deportations and pardoning January 6 attackers,โ the letter read. โYour sole action on costs was an executive order that barely mentioned food prices, with zero concrete policies to reduce them.โ
The only nod to food costs came in a memo blaming โharmful, coercive โclimateโ policiesโ for driving up pricesโa claim that left many scratching their heads.
Stay Focused
Carville urged Democrats to stay focused on Trumpโs policy shortcomings, warning against getting distracted by his headline-grabbing antics, like musing about seizing Greenland or the Panama Canal.
โDemocrats should keep reminding Trump, โYouโve got nothing done,โโ Carville said. โFood prices have only gone up since you took office.โ
And heโs not wrong. The cost of eggs, for example, has hit record highs due to an avian flu outbreak, with prices expected to keep climbing into 2025. Critics argue Trumpโs administration has made matters worse by muzzling agencies like the CDC, FDA, and NIH, potentially delaying crucial updates and responses to the crisis.
Meanwhile, Trumpโs tariff plans are adding fuel to the fire.
Economists and retail executives warn that imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico will drive grocery prices even higher. Walmart CFO John David Rainey and other industry leaders have already told consumers to brace for price hikes on everything from milk to bread. Itโs a far cry from Trumpโs campaign trail rhetoric, where he vowed to โslashโ prices and tackle inflation.
Carville believes Democrats have a golden opportunity to hold Trump accountable. If they can keep the spotlight on his empty promises and rising costs, even his most loyal supporters might start to see the cracks in the facade. After all, when it comes to putting food on the table, Americans donโt have time for broken promisesโor presidents who canโt deliver.
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