- Trump said in his Person of the Year interview that lowering grocery prices is “very hard.”
- He said that high food prices were part of why he won the election.
- Some economists think Trump’s economic plans, like tariffs and deportations, will be inflationary.
President-elect Donald Trump didn’t commit to being able to lower grocery prices in his Person of the Year interview with Time Magazine, after flagging the issue as an important part of his win.
Time asked Trump if failing to lower grocery prices, as he said he would do on the campaign trail, would make his presidency a failure.
“I don’t think so. Look, they got them up. I’d like to bring them down. It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up,” he said. “You know, it’s very hard. But I think that they will.”
Trump added that he thinks “energy” and “a better supply chain” will help bring down costs.
The economy consistently ranked as voters’ top issue in the presidential election, with inflation in particular at the top of mind. Frustrated with the price of everything from eggs, to meat, to cereal, many voters said they supported Trump because they thought he would lower everyday costs.
On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to lower food prices, saying at a rally on September 23, “Vote Trump and your incomes will soar. Your net worth will skyrocket. Your energy costs and grocery prices will come tumbling down.” When talking about groceries in an interview last week, he said that he would “bring those prices way down.”
In the interview, Trump said that Democrats lost because of their failure to talk about the economics of voters’ daily lives, like the experience of buying groceries. Some economists predict that the president-elect’s plans, like mass deportations and broad tariffs, will be inflationary. Walmart, the country’s biggest grocery retailer, is among the companies that said it will likely raise prices if Trump enacts his trade agenda.
When asked whether his proposed mass deportations, including for migrant agricultural workers, would spike food prices, Trump said no.
“No, because we’re going to let people in, but we have to let them in legally,” he said, before moving on to talk about not allowing prisoners into the country.
Inflation ticked up slightly in November, with the consumer price index rising to 2.7% from a year ago, as expected. The food-at-home index rose slightly as well, reaching 1.6% in November compared to 1.1% in October.
Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
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