Wal-Mart says holiday meal costs less this year. Trump says this proves he crushed inflation. Reality says otherwise

President Trump’s latest foray into megalomania was touched off by Wal-Mart last week when the giant retailer advertised that this year’s Thanksgiving meal (as purchased at Wal-Mart) would cost less than last year’s.

Trump (who promised during his campaign that he would bring grocery prices down “on day one”) immediately reacted, with the White House claiming that “President Donald J. Trump promised to crush inflation and lower prices — and he’s delivering this Thanksgiving, with [Wal-Mart’s] classic holiday feast about 3% cheaper than last year … It’s proof that under President Trump’s leadership, America is winning the war on high prices.”

Well, um … no.

I guess you can’t blame him for trying, but the facts say that, contrary to Trump’s bragadoccio, his claim is wrong. 

First of all, Wal-Mart’s statement is misleading, and secondly, food  prices, overall, have gone up in the past year.

As to Wal-Mart’s claim, it’s misleading because if you scan the menus it compares, the components of this year’s meal differ significantly from 2024’s. CNN fact checkers went through both year’s menus and found differences significant enough (among them, this year’s menu has six fewer items than last year's) to render the comparison useless. 

It seems reasonable to expect an analysis like this to include exactly the same items from each year.

As to Trump’s claim that he’s delivering on his promise to “crush inflation and lower prices,” it isn’t happening. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that food prices from September 2024 to September 2025 are up nearly 3%. The Wal-Mart ad campaign proves nothing about Trump’s track record on reducing inflation. 

What it does prove is that a) a public-relations driven manipulation of data can create false impressions of reality and b) that an opportunistic politician can cherry pick headlines to promote his preferred narrative, dubious as it may be.

Fact is, despite Trump’s chest-thumping about bringing prices down, grocery shoppers are worried about ongoing inflation. According to a poll cited by NBC News, “about half of all Americans say the cost of groceries is a "major" source of stress in their life right now, while 33% say it's a "minor" source of stress.” I searched through all the polls I could find and saw none that support the notion that Americans rate Trump’s economy favorably.

Trump’s rhetoric just doesn’t match up with reality.

John Tsitrian is a businessman and writer from the Black Hills. He was a weekly columnist for the Rapid City Journal for 20 years. His articles and commentary have also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post and The Omaha World-Herald. Tsitrian served in the Marines for three years (1966-69), including a 13-month tour of duty as a radioman in Vietnam. Republish with permission.

Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons

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