Trump’s Unfulfilled Price Reduction Promises Draw Criticism

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump‘s repeated campaign promises to lower food prices have yet to materialize, drawing criticism from Democratic lawmakers and economists. Despite a series of executive actions, prices for essential goods remain high, sparking concerns among voters and policymakers alike.

In August 2024, then-candidate Trump held a press conference surrounded by packaged foods, meats, produce, condiments, milk, and eggs, vowing to reduce prices immediately upon taking office. “When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One,” Trump declared. However, seven days into his presidency, those promises remain unfulfilled.

Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and 20 congressional Democrats, have criticized Trump’s focus on other priorities, such as mass deportations and pardoning January 6 attackers. In a letter addressed to the president, they noted, “Your sole action on costs was an executive order that contained only the barest mention of food prices, and not a single specific policy to reduce them.”

Economists have also questioned the feasibility of Trump’s pledges. Tyler Schipper, an economist and associate professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, stated, “No president is able to lower prices in a week, and some of the promises that were made about how quickly prices were going to come down were probably never achievable.”

Several factors contribute to the persistent high prices. Egg prices have surged due to a deadly bird flu, meat prices have risen because of ongoing drought, and coffee prices have increased due to severe weather in South America. Housing costs continue to climb due to a long-running shortage of inventory.

Trump has argued that increasing domestic oil production could help reduce food prices. However, the U.S. is already the world’s largest oil producer. Schipper noted, “The incentives [to drill more] aren’t great for oil companies. They certainly want the rights to drill; but given the price of oil right now, there’s not a lot of incentive for them to open up a bunch more oil capacity and push prices down further.”

While reducing housing regulations might offer some relief, Schipper emphasized that such changes take time. “There are lags between changing the policy and then developers seeing changes in policy and then gaming out how much that saves them, then actually building the apartments, and people moving into them,” he explained.

Democratic lawmakers have extended an olive branch to Trump, expressing readiness to collaborate on lowering food prices. “If you are indeed committed to lowering food prices, we stand ready to work with you,” their letter stated. “Last year, we put forward several recommendations for executive action to lower food prices by encouraging competition and fighting price-gouging at each level of the food supply chain.”

Inflation has slowed significantly since its peak in June 2022, but it remains a concern. The Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady this week, as economists monitor the impact of Trump’s tariff and immigration policies, which could further drive up prices. Schipper warned, “Tariffs have the effect, especially for goods that are more concentrated in individual countries, to raise prices.”