Trump backtracks on campaign pledge to bring down grocery prices

The president-elect walked back what was always a wildly unrealistic campaign promise.

Dec 12, 2024, 10:19 AM ESTUpdated 10 hours ago

President-elect Donald Trump admitted in an interview with Time magazine that it will be difficult for him to reduce consumer prices, contrary to statements he made on the campaign trail this year.

Trump told Time in an hourlong interview for its “Person of the Year” feature that his presidency wouldn’t be a failure if he failed to bring the price of groceries down.

“I’d like to bring them down. It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard. But I think that they will,” Trump said, according to the transcript.

Trump is right that it’s very hard to achieve across-the-board price reductions. Curbing inflation is only a matter of slowing the rate of price increases — actual economy-wide price drops typically don’t happen outside of a massive economic downturn.

Nevertheless, Trump repeatedly told voters during the campaign that electing him president would cause prices to tumble.

. . .

“We will cut your taxes and inflation, slash your prices, raise your wages and bring thousands of factories back to America,” Trump said at a Georgia rally in October, reciting a line he used in speeches at several other events.

. . . (excerpt)