Examining Trump's Promises on Price Inflation One Year Later

Thu Nov 06 2025 06:31:31 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

As President Trump marks a year in office, we analyze his commitment to address rising costs on groceries, electricity, cars, and gasoline, amid growing inflation concerns.

One year after Donald Trump's election victory, the administration's efforts to combat inflation are scrutinized. Promises were made to lower grocery prices, electricity costs, car prices, and gasoline rates. While some grocery items have risen sharply, electricity and vehicle prices have also increased. Experts point to various factors, including tariffs and market conditions, as significant contributors to ongoing inflation, challenging the effectiveness of the government's strategies thus far.

President Donald Trump was swept to power for a second time on the back of a central campaign promise to tackle inflation.

The steep rise in the cost of living was top of voters' minds and Trump blamed President Joe Biden.

He also made sweeping promises to bring down prices for Americans starting on day one.

One year on from his victory, BBC Verify revisits some of the president's claims.

Groceries

When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One, Trump declared at an August 2024 news conference surrounded by packaged foods, milk, meats and eggs.

Official data - which includes a four-month period when Biden was still president - shows grocery prices rose by 2.7% in the 12 months to September 2025, with some items seeing significantly sharper increases:

Coffee: 18.9%
Ground beef (minced beef): 12.9%
Bananas: 6.9%

Since Trump took office in January, the data also shows that apart from one recorded fall in April, grocery prices have risen each month.

The president of the United States has very little control over the price of food, especially in the short term, food economics expert Professor David Ortega told BBC Verify.

Trump's tariffs are driving up prices of certain foods, he said, - a third of coffee consumed in the US comes from Brazil and therefore has a 50% tariff.

Trump's illegal immigration crackdown may also have had an impact, Ortega adds, especially in farming where as many as 40% of workers are estimated to be undocumented, which is close to a million people.

Economists believe tariff and immigration policy changes have contributed to higher costs, along with weather events impacting supply.

A White House official informed BBC Verify that the rising prices were not solely due to Trump's policies but also global phenomena.

Some grocery items have fallen in price, with a range of factors influencing market dynamics.

Electricity

During his campaign, Trump pledged to cut electricity bills sharply.

However, the latest figures show average residential electricity rates have increased.

Prof James Sweeney from the Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy highlighted that meeting such drastic cuts was technically impossible, attributing rising prices to a surge in demand driven by technological advancements.

Cars

Trump extended his pledge regarding groceries to cars, but the average price of a new car has soared, marking the first time crossing the $50,000 benchmark.