One of the biggest talking points of Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign was to reverse the high inflation that peaked in 2022 under former President Joe Biden. Trump promised to reduce prices[1] for groceries, cars and other consumer items.
Trump took a victory lap on prices during an Aug. 26 Cabinet meeting[2], calling out a few categories.
“Groceries are down. Energy is way down,” Trump said. “Was $4 and $5 for a gallon of gas.”
We looked at official government data and found that the cost of some grocery and energy products have gone down, but many have seen increases.
The White House did not respond to an inquiry for this article.
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Food prices are up, with a few exceptions
For groceries, we examined standard price data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index. Taken as a whole, the cost of food has risen, but some individual items have fallen in price as others rose.
A measure for groceries, called food at home[3], rose by a small amount between December 2024 and July 2025 — just under 1%.
Combining food and beverage prices[4] shows a rise of 1.5% during the same period.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also separates price patterns for key types of food. A deeper dive into the grocery cart shows that some of these items became more expensive while others became cheaper.
The price of eggs, an issue Trump spotlighted earlier in the year[5], has fallen by about 13%[6], following a bird flu-driven spike.
Bread fell by 3.2%[7], and fruits and vegetables fell by 0.7%[8].
But a larger number of items increased in price. Bacon[9] rose by 2.9%. The combined cost of meats, poultry, fish and eggs[10] rose by 2.8%. Coffee prices[11] rose by 11.3%. Dairy and related products[12] rose slightly, by 0.5%. Sugar and sweets[13] rose by 3.7%.
Ground beef saw the biggest increase, rising by 11.6%. Drought and export limits have driven beef prices higher.[14][15]
These increases are over half a year. If these items’ prices continue to rise at the same rate over a full year, the percentage increase would double.
Energy prices overall are down, but electricity is up
The overall cost of energy[16] is down, by about 2.6% on Trump’s watch. Energy is a broad field that includes[17] fuel oil, propane, kerosene, firewood, electricity and energy services.
Many consumers have noticed that their monthly electricity[18] bills are up, by 4.6%.
Gasoline prices, according to the Energy Information Administration[19], rose by just a few cents from $3.109 on Jan. 20, Trump’s inauguration day, to $3.147 on Aug. 25, the most recent data available when Trump spoke. (Gas prices are typically higher[20] in the summer.)
Trump compares this with $4 or $5 per gallon gasoline, but the last time prices were that high was in 2022. Most, and most of the subsequent price decline came under Biden. Gasoline prices were below $4 per gallon for the final two and a half years of Biden’s presidency.
Trump “can point to successes in lowering inflation in some commodities; but there have been ‘failures’ in many other commodities,” said Gary Burtless, a Brookings Institution economist. “Overall, it’s hard to say that inflation is sharply or even moderately lower than it was in the late-Biden-administration era.”
Our ruling
Trump said, “Groceries are down. Energy is way down. … Was $4 and $5 for a gallon of gas.”
Some food items have seen a price decline on Trump’s watch, and overall energy prices have declined. But many items have increased in price.
Among the food items to rise in price between December 2024 and July 2025 are ground beef, bacon, other meats, coffee, dairy products and sugar and sweets.
As for energy, electricity costs have risen, and Trump’s comparison to $4 and $5 gasoline ignores that most of the price decline at the pump occurred under Biden.
We rate the statement Half True.
References
- ^ reduce prices (www.politifact.com)
- ^ Cabinet meeting (rollcall.com)
- ^ food at home (fred.stlouisfed.org)
- ^ food and beverage prices (fred.stlouisfed.org)
- ^ earlier in the year (www.politifact.com)
- ^ fallen by about 13% (fred.stlouisfed.org)
- ^ fell by 3.2% (fred.stlouisfed.org)
- ^ fell by 0.7% (fred.stlouisfed.org)
- ^ Bacon (fred.stlouisfed.org)
- ^ meats, poultry, fish and eggs (fred.stlouisfed.org)
- ^ Coffee prices (fred.stlouisfed.org)
- ^ Dairy and related products (fred.stlouisfed.org)
- ^ Sugar and sweets (fred.stlouisfed.org)
- ^ Ground beef (fred.stlouisfed.org)
- ^ have driven beef prices higher. (www.cbsnews.com)
- ^ overall cost of energy (fred.stlouisfed.org)
- ^ includes (www.bls.gov)
- ^ electricity (fred.stlouisfed.org)
- ^ Energy Information Administration (www.eia.gov)
- ^ typically higher (www.convenience.org)