Trump said he would lower prices. TRICK? OR TReaT?
“I inherited very, very high costs, and they’re all coming down now,” Trump said Aug. 4 on Fox News. “The food, the groceries, it’s all coming down.”
PRICES: TRICK
coffee IS UP 32%
ground beef IS UP 25%
steak IS UP 20%
sugar & sweets ARE UP 9%
chicken breast IS UP 5%
fruits & vegetables ARE UP 5%
gasoline is up by 32%
fuel oil is up 24%
natural gas is up 12%
electricity is up 18%
HOUSING IS UP 5.7%
CLOTHING IS UP 5%
SOURCES: JANUARY 2025 TO AUGUST 2026, Federal reserve bank of st. louis, CLIMATEPOWER.US
INFLATION: TRICK
“Since the Iran war began FebRUARY 28, 2026… year-over-year inflation has spiked. The monthly inflation rate has been higher than what Trump inherited.” - POLITIFACT
TARIFFS: TRICK
Trump’s tariffs, before they were ruled illegal, cost THE AVERAGE American household an extra $1,700. Only corporations ARE GETTING refundS, even though most of them already passed those increased costs onto you.
TRICKLE-DOWN ECONOMICS: TRICK
Trump’s giant “big beautiful” tax and budget bill that passed in 2025 is projected to add at least $3.4 trillion to the already out-of-control national debt over a decade, and overwhelmingly benefits the rich and big corporations. The CBO projects that those in the bottom tenth of the income distribution will end up poorer, while the top tenth will be substantially richer.
The bill also made permanent the business tax cuts from the 2017 legislation, further benefiting the largest corporations.
Over the last 50 years, Congress has passed several major bills that cut taxes, including: the 1981 Reagan tax cuts; the 2001 and 2003 George W. Bush tax cuts; and the 2017 Trump tax cuts. Each time, the same three arguments were made in favor of the tax cuts: (1) They’d pay for themselves. (2) They’d supercharge economic growth. (3) They’d benefit everyone.
But it’s never worked. Today, workers’ share of the nation’s income is at the lowest it’s been since records began in 1947. Corporate profits’ share, on the other hand, is the highest it’s been since 1950.
Trickle-down economics is nothing more than a cruel hoax designed to enrich corporations and the super-rich. For working people, it's been 40 years of all trick and no treat. Enough.