WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s relentless mendacity lastly seems to have encountered an issue it can not overcome: grocery costs, which, largely due to his tariffs, have been rising almost twice as shortly as that they had below predecessor Joe Biden.
“Grocery costs are means down,” the president has been saying, time after time after time after time, for months, together with twice on Thursday and as soon as once more on Friday.
Statistics from the federal government he runs, nevertheless, belie that declare. Inflation for meals gadgets has been 3.1% since Trump declared his commerce battle towards the remainder of the world in early April, in comparison with 1.8% in Biden’s ultimate 12 months, in accordance with a HuffPost analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics knowledge.
Trump’s tariffs — that are paid by American importers at ports of entry — have hit merchandise from just about each nation, together with these with which america has free commerce agreements. Gadgets like espresso, bananas, sugar and seafood have seen essentially the most dramatic worth will increase because of tariffs.
And in contrast to different of his frequent lies on subjects about which most Individuals don’t have any first-hand information — for instance his declare that different international locations pay U.S. tariffs or that he has ended eight wars or that he has already introduced in $22 trillion in international investments — groceries and the way a lot they price is a topic that just about everybody offers with no less than a few times per week.
“I can’t let you know why the president lies, however I can let you know that all the pieces he has stated about costs being decrease is a lie,” stated College of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers. “I’m beginning to suppose that he doesn’t truly care about the price of residing.”
Trump has appeared delicate to that suggestion, significantly within the days after Republicans had been trounced in off-year elections across the nation. Voters instructed pollsters that issues weren’t going nicely within the economic system. Heading into the autumn campaigns, greater than 80% of Individuals reported being stressed by grocery costs, with about half describing it as a reason behind “main” stress. New York Metropolis’s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani primarily based his total long-shot marketing campaign on “affordability.”
Talking with reporters Thursday at a White Home dinner with leaders from Central Asian international locations, Trump grew irate that Democrats had been now seen as higher on that problem.
“So I don’t need to hear concerning the affordability as a result of proper now we’re a lot much less,” he stated amid a prolonged, and largely false, rant about costs being decrease because of him. “Our vitality prices are means down. Our groceries are means down. All the pieces is means down, and the press doesn’t report it. The press experiences regardless of the con folks say. You already know, I name the Democrats con women and men. They make up numbers.”
Earlier within the day, taking questions from reporters within the Oval Workplace, Trump had responded with an avalanche of falsehoods about worldwide commerce when requested about Chief Justice John Roberts’ matter-of-fact assertion on the Supreme Court docket that tariffs are taxes and are paid by Individuals.
“It’s ― it’s coming in as a result of they’ve charged us ― you already know, those self same international locations that you simply speak about are charging us large quantities of cash. For those who have a look at the tariffs through the years that had been placed on our heads, there’s a purpose we’re $38 trillion owed. Now that cash goes to start out coming down. However we now have presidents that didn’t know how one can use tariffs. We had presidents that had no understanding of enterprise. However should you check out what’s occurred to us, each nation fees tariffs. China, the European Union was brutal. They cost us tariffs, not solely tariffs, they cost us tariffs so we couldn’t promote vehicles right here. We couldn’t promote our product. They didn’t need our agriculture; they didn’t need our vehicles. Now they’re taking our vehicles and now they’re taking our agriculture, you already know way over cash. It truly is a defensive mechanism. If we didn’t have tariffs, we might be unable to defend ourselves,” he stated in a 166-word response that didn’t reply the query.
Requested once more if he agreed, lastly, that Individuals pay tariffs, Trump provided a 377-word response:
“I believe ― no, I don’t agree. I believe that they is likely to be paying one thing, however whenever you take the general impression, the Individuals are gaining tremendously. They’re gaining by nationwide safety. Look, I’m ending battle due to these tariffs, Individuals must struggle in a few of these wars. They’re gaining in nationwide safety. They’re gaining in economics. They’re gaining in so many various methods they usually’re gaining in self-respect for our personal nation. Different international locations used to snicker at us. They might cost us ― Japan was charging us large tariffs and but they wouldn’t enable our vehicles to be offered in Japan. However they had been promoting 9 million vehicles right here, however they wouldn’t enable one automotive. Not one automotive was offered in Japan. They don’t snicker at us anymore. That is actually a matter of ― that is nationwide safety. And by the best way, going bankrupt is nationwide safety. You already know, our nation was actually in bother. Going bankrupt and the distinction between going bankrupt and thriving, that’s additionally nationwide safety. Whenever you go bankrupt, whenever you don’t have any cash, you haven’t any nationwide safety and we’re thriving. I imply all this cash coming into our nation that I instructed you about, the $17 trillion as of now, but it surely’s going up quickly. I used to be in Japan and we now have ― Toyota is coming in with $10 billion to construct vegetation operated by Individuals, however constructing vegetation all around the United States. Effectively, they left ― they took our vegetation. They offered vehicles in right here with out tariffs. They offered vehicles; we didn’t cost them something. They destroyed our auto trade. We misplaced 50 p.c, 54 p.c of our auto trade to others. We used to ― should you return into the ’30s and ’40s, we had one hundred pc of the car enterprise, then it began getting chopped away. However Mexico, Canada, many international locations ― I imply, Canada fought us very onerous. Those that don’t need us to win are international international locations that we’re in a position now to do very nicely with. These are those that struggle it, these and possibly people who hate our nation. I believe it’s an important case possibly within the historical past of our nation.”
HuffPost tried, each within the afternoon session and the night dinner, to press him about his grocery costs lie, however he wouldn’t interact on the query.
At one other level, Trump made the absurd assertion, “We’re taking in tons of of trillions of {dollars},” although your entire U.S. economic system is simply about $30 trillion a 12 months.
“I’ve no perception on why the president says what he says, however tariffs are growing prices for U.S. shoppers, and they’re going to proceed to make Individuals poorer so long as they continue to be in impact,” stated Erica York, vice chairman of federal tax coverage on the Tax Basis.
