Trump Promised Cheaper Groceries. Now He’s Blaming Chickens.

During the campaign, Trump said he would bring grocery prices down on “Day One.” Many voters, especially those whose finances were strained by a rise in food prices, took him at his word and elected him to a second term. However, after the election, Trump backtracked, admitting that bringing down grocery prices would be “hard.” His Secretary of Agriculture later said that Americans who were worried about egg prices should raise chickens in their backyards. 

Since taking office, Trump has made little effort to bring prices down. Instead much of his energy has gone into to culture-war issues like the demonization of trans people, taking over the Kennedy Center, and renaming things. He has even found time to prohibit government entities from buying paper straws. 

Trump has authorized Elon Musk to lead efforts to dismantle the federal government. This has included crippling or abolishing programs that are monitoring and control of infectious diseases here and abroad, eliminating weather surveillance and analysis programs that forecast dangerous weather events, and ending food safety programs. Neither the culture wars nor an assault on life-saving services was high among the goals of the voters who elected Trump. None of this lowers the cost of food. 

In fact, curtailing essential services like weather prediction has cascading consequences throughout the economy. Farmers rely on accurate forecasts to plan crop yields and make informed planting decisions; without that data, uncertainty grows and agricultural productivity suffers. Airlines depend on precise weather models to chart safe and efficient flight paths, and disruptions can increase fuel costs, delay operations, and compromise passenger safety. Emergency managers require early warnings to coordinate evacuations and disaster response—without them, lives and property are put at greater risk.. 

The dismantling of government food safety programs adds costs for producers. Without federally funded inspections and oversight, food companies must absorb the expense of private testing, compliance systems, and liability risk, all of which contribute to rising prices. Trump's proposed cuts will put upward pressure on grocery bills at a time when American families are already feeling the squeeze. Beyond the economic impact, scaling back food safety increases the risk of contamination outbreaks, undermining public health and consumer confidence. In short, Trump’s cuts will put upward pressure on grocery prices and put American families at greater risk.

Trump’s tariffs are also driving prices up across the board. Beef and pork prices rose significantly in February. Tariffs now in place are projected to increase fresh produce prices by about 3% and food prices overall by 2% this year. And Trump’s recent “Liberation Day” tariffs promise to substantially hike prices even higher. 

Trump says tariffs will force manufacturers to make their goods here at home, but his tariffs don’t only apply to manufactured goods. For example, bananas from many exporting nations would be covered by the higher tariffs Trump has proposed. The U.S. imports most of the bananas it consumes because bananas don’t grow well in many parts of the continental U.S. No tariff can change that. Trump has admitted his tariffs may cause “some pain.” 

Trump’s erratic performance on tariffs – on, off, then on again, and in ever-changing amounts – along with higher-than-expected inflation since the inauguration have undermined both business and consumer confidence. The stock market just suffered its worst quarter in several years, and created an enormous market selloff in the days following his announced tariff plan. Many businesses now expect a recession in 2025. Consumer economic confidence has fallen 30% since November. It is now at a 12-year low.     

Trump’s failure to address inflation contrasts sharply with President Biden’s record. Biden took decisive action to unsnarl supply chains, pushed Congress to enact major stimulus and infrastructure legislation, and worked to stabilize gas prices Under his leadership unemployment fell to 4%--the lowest in years–and real wages rose, reaching their highest level in two decades. The stock market posted gains for five quarters of his administration and while food prices never reverting to their pre-pandemic levels, their rate of increase slowed significantly. Said a Moody’s analyst, “the top-line performance of the economy arguably couldn’t be better coming into the year.” 

Now inflation is rising again. It is widely expected to get worse. Trump is not even trying very hard to address it.