President Donald Trump’s first three weeks of his second term in office have been marked by a flurry of chaos across all corners of the federal government and the American economy: shuttering government agencies, starting and ending trade wars and handing over the country’s checkbook to billionaire Elon Musk to spend and cut as he pleases. Conspicuously absent has been movement on the one thing voters care most about: lowering prices.
Conspicuously absent has been movement on the one thing voters care most about: lowering prices.
This week’s Consumer Price Index release showed the largest single-month increase in inflation since August 2023. Prices have increased by 3% over the past year, stubbornly above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Groceries got more expensive, driven by soaring egg prices. Gasoline and auto insurance rose, as well, hurting consumers at the pump and on the road, and shelter prices, including rent, have risen for three consecutive months.
While theories of the reasons behind Democrats’ loss in the November election abound, one thing the data overwhelmingly shows is that voters hated inflation under President Joe Biden and voted for Trump to fix it. A CNN exit poll showed that 75% of voters experienced some hardship or severe hardship due to inflation, and those voters broke decisively for Trump and pulled the lever for him in the expectation that he’d address their concerns. Despite this expectation, the Trump administration’s early focus has been everywhere else but on the pocketbooks of American consumers.
Asked when families would feel relief from high prices, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she didn’t have a timeline. Trump himself seemed to back down from his campaign promises shortly after the election. He said: “It’s hard to bring [prices] down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard.” Vice President JD Vance told CBS News that “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and that it would “take a little time” for grocery prices to come down.
It may be unfair to hold a new administration accountable for broad-based price increases mere weeks after taking office. But Trump invited the criticism. Weeks before the election, he posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, that the prices of eggs and gas are “OUT OF CONTROL!!!” and he promised that on “DAY ONE” he would “SLASH prices–so fast it’ll make their heads spin.” He consistently claimed he had a plan to bring down prices; now it’s clear that he’s stiffing the people he promised like so many lawyers and contractors before them.
Far from being geared to bring prices down, Trump’s early policy priorities are likely to add to inflation.
Americans are already taking notice. In a poll this week by YouGov/CBS News, a whopping 66% of voters said Trump’s focus on lowering prices was “not enough.” Consumer sentiment nosedived in February, falling to its lowest levels since July. This was driven by consumers’ future inflation expectations, which posted one of the five largest increases since 2014. Consumers don’t believe that prices are going to come down, which may in and of itself fuel higher inflation as they change spending habits.
Far from being geared to bring prices down, Trump’s early policy priorities are likely to add to inflation. His indiscriminate, broad-based tariff agenda is so extreme that even the International Machinists Union, usually a strong supporter of tariffs, warned that his plans would hurt workers and consumers. On Thursday, the House Budget Committee advanced a budget resolution that would cut at least $4.5 trillion in taxes, mostly for the wealthy and large corporations, which would overstimulate the economy and fan the flames of inflation. Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency have waged a war on government workers, including the inspectors and scientists who monitor chickens — as an avian flu outbreak wreaks havoc on our egg supply.
If Trump were serious about lowering prices, then he’d be working to ensure that the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share in taxes, not receive a massive giveaway. He’d be cracking down on monopolies and large corporations that use their market power to profit off consumers, not shutting down the agency that protects them. Unfortunately, it appears that Trump has pulled off another con job. Only this time, instead of the Atlantic City casinos left holding the bag, it’s American families.
Alex Jacquez
Alex Jacquez is the chief of policy and advocacy at Groundwork Collaborative. Before joining Groundwork, he was special assistant to the president for economic development and industrial strategy at the White House National Economic Council, where he advised the president on issues from labor and competition to clean energy and manufacturing. He previously was a senior policy adviser for labor and economic issues for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on the Budget Committee and on his 2020 presidential campaign, and he has held policy, communications and engagement positions for Senate Democratic leadership, the Obama White House, the Agriculture Department and federal and state campaigns.