President-elect Trump said his victory in the White House last month came down to two things.
“I won on the border, I won on groceries,” the president-elect said in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
Trump then delved into the high grocery prices paid by millions of Americans as a key reason for his convincing victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the White House.
Fox News Voter Analysis: How Trump won the White House
President-elect Trump speaks during the Fox Nation Patriot Awards on Thursday, December 5, 2024, in Greenville, New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
“Very simple word, groceries. Like almost – you know, who uses this word? I started using this word – groceries. When you buy apples, when you buy bacon, when you buy eggs, the price of them goes up. “I won the election in a short period of time,” Trump emphasized in an interview recorded on Friday and aired on Sunday. “
Americans want to see Trump lower prices
Although inflation has slowed sharply since peaking in 2022, grocery prices remain well above levels before the coronavirus pandemic swept the world nearly five years ago.
Americans are spending 22% more on groceries than when President Biden took office nearly four years ago, according to the latest Consumer Price Index inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Voter dissatisfaction with high grocery prices and other effects of inflation benefited Trump in his campaign to win back the White House.
Voters say the economy is far and away the top issue facing the country, followed by immigration and abortion, according to a Fox News voter analysis of the 2024 election.
Fox News Voter Analysis surveyed more than 110,000 voters and 18,000 non-voters nationwide, and 40% said inflation was the most important factor in their vote, favoring Trump by an almost two-to-one margin. An Associated Press VoteCast survey of more than 120,000 registered voters reached a similar conclusion.
During the presidential campaign, Trump criticized the Biden/Harris economy and promised to lower prices.
“Grocery prices are skyrocketing,” Trump said at a news conference in August, standing next to a table filled with packaged food.
“When I win, I will lower the price immediately, starting from day one,” he vowed.
Trump promised on “Meet the Press” that “we’re going to significantly lower those prices.”
President-elect Trump gestures after speaking at the America First Policy Institute gala at Mar-a-Lago on November 14, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
But Trump reiterated in the interview that he would fulfill his campaign vow to impose high tariffs on imported goods from the United States’ major trading partners.
During the presidential campaign, Harris argued that Trump’s sweeping tariffs, if implemented, would raise prices on many goods and amount to “a sales tax on the American people.”
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The tariff is A tax levied by a government on imported or exported goods. They can increase the cost of imported products and make local products more attractive.
Asked in a recent interview whether he could guarantee his tariffs wouldn’t force Americans to pay more for goods, Trump responded: “I can’t guarantee anything.”
