Washington – Two months ago, in his first network television interview after the election, Donald Trump He said that American anger is about American anger over immigration and inflation, specifically the rising cost of food.
“When you buy apples, when you buy bacon, when you buy eggs, they would double and triple the price in no time,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And I won the election based on that. We’re going to bring those prices down.”
But in Trump’s first week in the White House, there was little of his initial blitz Executive orders who directly faced those prices, to start federal agencies “Following the appropriate actions.” He is taking steps to lower energy costs, which Trump hopes will have ripple effects throughout the economy. Otherwise, his focus has been on immigration, his “no.” 1 copy “shortly after taking the oath of office.
“They all said inflation was the No. 1 issue. ‘I disagree,’ Trump said. ‘I’ve talked about inflation, but how many times can you say an apple has doubled in cost?’
Trump is banking on voters by giving them a pass Continuing to blame former President Joe Biden For high prices. The Republican comments reflect the reality that the president has almost no leverage to quickly reduce inflation without causing collateral damage elsewhere in the economy.
There is more that Trump can do on energy. He is pushing to reduce regulations Increase the amount of land Available for drilling. It is trying to convince domestic and foreign oil producers to sacrifice their profits pumping more
At a rally in Las Vegas on Saturday, Trump went after his Democratic predecessor as prices rose under his watch and promised to quickly take care of the problem.
“When I think of Biden, I think of incompatibility and inflation,” Trump said.
Inflation was at an annual rate of 9.1% in June 2022, after the economic shock of the Coronavirus pandemic in global supply chain problems. Since then, overall consumer prices have fallen, but have ticked up in recent months, from 2.4% in September to December, the latest figures available. Economists have warned that Trump’s plans for tariffs and tax cuts could create new inflationary pressures and raise interest rates.
Vice President JD Vance, in an interview with CBS’ “Face” nation “, defended the work of the White House so far.
“Prices will come down, but it will take some time, won’t it?” he said He added, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
Trump’s shift away from addressing costs could create an opening for Democrats, who are unsupportive of working-class voters, hoping to provide a party where the argument could begin to power Washington.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said Trump preferred to distract people from inflation by talking about annexing Greenland to the United States or seizing the Panama Canal.
“It’s catnip and everyone is influenced by focusing on their own economic agenda, which has nothing to do with lowering costs and easing the economy to help the Mar-AA-Lago crowd,” he said.
In an interview on Fox News last week, host Sean Hannity struggled to focus on the Trump Economy.
“Let me get to the economics,” Hanbura said at one point. “I’m running out of time.”
“It will make the economy great,” Trump insisted.
When Trump spoke about inflation in the interview, he pointed out how low it was during his first term and insisted that prices would not have jumped if he had been president after the 2020 elections, although higher inflation was a global trend emerging from the pandemic.
It is not clear whether Trump would convince oil companies and foreign countries to increase production quickly enough to cost profits.
The Energy Information Administration reports that domestic oil production has grown 8.4% annually over the past two years, averaging nearly 13.5 million barrels in October. He suggests that Trump may increase it by an additional 3 million barrels per day.
It would be difficult to achieve much additional production in a single year without serious changes in the global market. The International Energy Agency estimates that global oil supplies will increase by 1.8 million barrels per day to 104.7 million barrels per day. He has also expressed his opposition to Climate-Friendlier wind and solar power, putting more pressure on the US economy to rely on fossil fuels.
Ej Antoni, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, said the potential increase in energy production under Trump would ultimately be delivered at lower prices throughout the economy.
“If you want to lower the cost of energy, you’re going to lower the cost of all kinds of goods and services,” he said.
But there is a risk that Trump’s comprehensive plans will raise — not lower — prices. Deporting illegal immigrants in the United States can deprive businesses of lower-wage workers. The cost of tariffs, taxes placed on foreign imports, could be passed on to consumers.
Trump has said that his strategy might also involve him Public pressure on the Federal Reserve To cut interest rates, saying in Davos that he would “ask” central banks. The Fed sees its political independence as key to making tough choices to stabilize prices. Biden saw independence as worth protecting, and Trump sees it as a problem.
The Fed raised benchmark rates starting in 2022 to make it more expensive to borrow and did enough to reduce inflationary pressures that could raise rates late last year. Trump believes that higher oil production will provide the fuel to figure out what to do.
Asked in the Oval Office if he expects the Fed to listen, Trump said, “Yes.”
