Rerun

promise

The recurring promise that prices will come down "on day one"

You're probably here because of the Sep 2026 rerun. This is the 11th time since 2024 this has been promised. The previous rerun was Aug 2026.

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During the 2024 campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly promised to bring prices down right away. At an August 2024 press conference with groceries on display, he said "When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One." At a Montana rally he said "Starting on Day 1, we will end inflation and make America affordable again." Since then, news outlets, fact-checkers and Democratic lawmakers have checked those promises against federal price data at key moments. The administration has pointed to falling prices for some items, such as eggs and gasoline in 2025, and has blamed the previous administration and, later, the Iran war.

Sources: 1, 2

20162026

Sep 2026 – ongoing Trump claims grocery and fuel prices are falling as coverage compares prices with his campaign pledges to lower costs

During the 2024 campaign, Trump said "A vote for Trump means your groceries will be cheaper" (Pittsburgh, Nov. 4, 2024). He also promised to get gasoline "below $2 a gallon" (Economic Club of New York, Sept. 5, 2024), according to CBS. On Sept. 27, 2026, he told reporters grocery prices "have come way down from Biden." CNN reported that grocery prices were up 3.4% and overall prices up 4.8% from January 2025 through August 2026. Fox reported that the September 2026 Consumer Price Index showed prices up 3.7% over the year, groceries up 1.8%, and the gasoline index up 9.1% in one month. CBS reported that the national average gas price was $4.37 on Oct. 9, up 47% since the Iran war began.

  • CNN article
    The prices for groceries have come way down from Biden. Almost every price has come way down.
  • The Hill article
    "No, we haven't," Wright said.
  • HuffPost article
    Fuel prices will come tumbling down as soon as the Iran War is over, which will happen very quickly!
  • c-span.org video Watch
    A vote for Trump means your groceries will be cheaper

Sources: CNN reliable · cbsnews.com reliable · Fox News needs a second source · The Hill reliable

Aug 2026 Reuters revisits the Bedminster groceries two years later

On Aug 15, 2024, at his Bedminster, N.J., golf club, candidate Donald Trump stood between tables of fruit, beef, cereal, milk and other staples and blamed the Biden administration for higher grocery prices. Reuters called this an event that "highlighted Trump's central promise: he alone could tame inflation and lower the cost of living." On Aug 15, 2026, Reuters looked at 26 grocery categories that the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks and that appeared in that display. Prices were up 3.4% over the first 19 months of Trump's second term. Reuters said that was less than a quarter of the pace at the same point in Biden's term, but still short of the pledge to lower prices. Eggs were down nearly 40%, while beef was up 19.2%, apples 14% and coffee nearly 23%. A White House official pointed to the July consumer price report as evidence that inflation was under control.

Sources: investing.com needs a second source · HuffPost needs a second source · news24.com needs a second source

Mar 2026 Gas prices jump during the Iran war

In summer 2024, candidate Trump promised voters: "When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on day one" (HuffPost, April 2025). At a March 9, 2026 news conference, more than a year into his term and during the U.S. war with Iran, Trump said the war's result "will be lower oil prices, oil and gas prices for American families." AAA's national average that day was $3.48 a gallon, up from $2.90 a month earlier (AP). By March 31 the national average had reached $4 a gallon (Axios). On March 18, Vance called the rise "a temporary blip" but said there was "a rough road ahead of us for the next few weeks" (The New Republic).

  • fortune.com article
    He said he was going to bring gas down, but the war in Iran is now making everything worse.
  • The New Republic article
    we’ve got a rough road ahead of us for the next few weeks, but it’s temporary
  • Axios article
    U.S. average gas price hits $4 a gallon
  • cnbc.com video Watch

Sources: fortune.com reliable · Axios reliable · The New Republic needs a second source · HuffPost needs a second source

Jan 2026 One-year reviews of Trump's promise to end inflation and lower prices

On Jan. 20, 2026, the inauguration anniversary, PolitiFact, NPR and CNN published one-year reviews of Trump's record on prices. On Jan. 30, the Senate Banking Committee's Democratic (minority) staff released its own report. (1) According to the Jan. 30 report from Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren's minority staff, Trump promised during the 2024 campaign that "starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again." The report credits that quote to a Dec. 5, 2025 CNN article. (2) At the one-year mark, PolitiFact reported that year-over-year inflation had fallen only slightly, from 3.0% in January 2025 to 2.7% in December 2025. Groceries were up almost 2% and electricity almost 7%. Eggs, bacon, dairy products and bread had gotten cheaper. (3) NPR reported that average retail gasoline prices were down nearly 10% from a year earlier, while electricity costs were rising. (4) On Jan. 20, Trump said "many of the groceries have come way down." CNN reported that overall grocery prices were up about 1.9% during his term and 2.4% year over year in December.

  • PolitiFact article
    Prices have fallen for some specific items during his second term, but not for most.
  • NPR article
    One year in, the price of gasoline is down about 10%.
  • banking.senate.gov statement
    Donald Trump promised families lower costs on day one — and then pursued policies that drove prices up instead.

Sources: PolitiFact reliable · NPR reliable · banking.senate.gov needs a second source · banking.senate.gov needs a second source · CNN reliable

Nov 2025 – Dec 2025 Food tariff cuts and the "affordability" debate

During the 2024 campaign, Trump said "Starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again," and CNN reports he repeated it in late September in Pennsylvania. On Nov 14, 2025, he removed tariffs on beef, coffee, bananas and other foods and said the change should bring prices down. The latest federal data then, for the 12 months through September, showed food prices up 3.1%, beef up 12.9% and roasted coffee up 18.9% (CBS), and grocery costs up 2.7% (NPR). In his Dec 9 Pennsylvania speech he said "prices are coming down." Overall consumer prices had risen 3% in the year through September, and newer inflation data was delayed until mid-December by the government shutdown (CBS).

  • cbsnews.com article
    President Trump exempted foods like beef, coffee and bananas from his sweeping country-by-country tariffs on Friday
  • cbsnews.com article
    They caused the high prices, and we're bringing them down,
  • CNN article
    Starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again,

Sources: cbsnews.com reliable · cbsnews.com reliable · NPR reliable · CNN reliable

Apr 2025 Grocery claims fact-checked at the 100-day mark

At an August 2024 news conference at his New Jersey golf club, with groceries on display behind him, Trump vowed to "immediately bring prices down, starting on Day 1." (NBC). On April 15 and 17, 2025, he posted that groceries were "going down" and "are down." CNN rated those posts false: under the Consumer Price Index, March 2025 grocery prices were about 0.49% above January 2025 and about 2.41% above March 2024. CBS rated his April 17 and April 24 statements that "groceries are down" false or misleading, using the same CPI data. CBS also found the national average for regular gas was about $3.14 in the third week of April, slightly above $3.11 in the week he took office. In an ABC interview timed to his 100th day, Trump said, "I said, 'You're going to have a transition period.'"

  • CNN article
    President Donald Trump has falsely claimed this week that grocery prices are “going down” and “are down.”
  • cbsnews.com article
    The president has also falsely stated that he has overseen a drop in grocery prices.
  • nbcnewyork.com article
    vowing to “immediately bring prices down, starting on Day 1.”

Sources: CNN reliable · cbsnews.com reliable · nbcnewyork.com needs a second source · HuffPost needs a second source

Mar 2025 A period of transition

At an August 2024 rally in Montana, then-candidate Trump said, "Starting on Day 1, we will end inflation and make America affordable again." A week later he said, "When I win, I will immediately bring prices down." On March 9, 2025, seven weeks into his term, he told Fox News "There is a period of transition" when asked whether he expected a recession. ABC News placed that remark next to the campaign promises. Inflation data released March 12 showed prices still rising rather than falling: 2.8% over the past year in February (down from 3% in January), with groceries up 2.6% and eggs up 58.8%.

  • forbes.com article
    There is a period of transition, because what we're doing is very big,
  • ABC News article
    Starting on Day 1, we will end inflation and make America affordable again,
  • ABC News article
    The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 890 points, or 2%, while the S&P 500 declined 2.7%.
  • youtube.com video
    There is a period of transition, because what we're doing is very big

Sources: ABC News reliable · ABC News reliable · forbes.com needs a second source · cbsnews.com reliable

Feb 2025 January inflation report and egg prices

Newsweek reported that bringing prices down was one of Trump's main campaign promises, with Trump saying his administration would start lowering prices "on day one." On Feb 12, 2025, BLS reported that the CPI rose 0.5% in January (seasonally adjusted) and 3.0% over 12 months. The eggs index rose 15.2% in the month, its largest increase since June 2015. Trump replied on Truth Social with "BIDEN INFLATION UP!" Fortune noted that the January data included 12 days of Trump's term. On Feb 26, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a plan to curb bird flu. She wrote that it would restore stability to the egg market "over the next three to six months."

  • bls.gov statement
    This was the largest increase in the eggs index since June 2015
  • Newsweek (pre–2013) article
    putting pressure on the new administration to honor its key campaign pledge to bring down prices "on day one"
  • Yahoo News article
    we're confident that it will restore stability to the egg market over the next three to six months

Sources: bls.gov needs a second source · Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source · fortune.com reliable · Yahoo News reliable

Jan 2025 – Feb 2025 Inauguration order and rising egg prices (Jan 2025)

In August 2024, candidate Donald Trump said, "when I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on day one," as quoted in the Warren letter. On Jan 20, 2025, he signed a memorandum ordering "the heads of all executive departments and agencies to deliver emergency price relief" (White House). It required a status report within 30 days but named no specific food-price measure. By Jan 30, PolitiFact reported that egg prices "haven't fallen since he took office." It cited Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing a dozen eggs at $4.10 in December 2024, and a USDA outlook saying egg prices could rise about 20% more in 2025. On Jan 26–27, Sen. Warren and 20 other Democratic lawmakers wrote that the order contained "only the barest mention of food prices."

  • whitehouse.gov statement
    I hereby order the heads of all executive departments and agencies to deliver emergency price relief
  • warren.senate.gov statement
    only the barest mention of food prices
  • PolitiFact article
    But one crack in his plan is that egg prices haven’t fallen since he took office Jan. 20.

Sources: CNN reliable · PolitiFact reliable · warren.senate.gov needs a second source

Dec 2024 Time interview, "It's hard to bring things down"

At an August 2024 press conference about grocery prices, Trump said: "When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on day one" (as reported by CNN). In Time's "Person of the Year" interview, published Dec 12, 2024, he was asked whether his presidency would be a failure if grocery prices didn't come down. He said "I don't think so" and "It's hard to bring things down once they're up," and added that energy and a better supply chain would bring them down. On the same day, at the New York Stock Exchange, he said Americans would be "affording their groceries very soon" (CNN). As president-elect he had not yet taken office, so nothing had been delivered. Price data reported at the time: November CPI showed grocery prices 22% higher than in January 2021 (CNN); overall inflation was 2.7% (ABC); egg prices were rising because of avian flu (ABC, NBC).

  • Time article
    I don't think so. Look, they got them up. I'd like to bring them down. It's hard to bring things down once they're up. You know, it's very hard. But I think that they will.
  • ABC News article
    Trump now says bringing down grocery prices, as he promised, will be 'very hard'
  • youtube.com video

Sources: Time reliable · ABC News reliable · NBC News reliable · CNN reliable

Aug 2024 Trump pledges to bring prices down starting on "Day One" (Bozeman, Asheville, Bedminster)

At an Aug. 9, 2024 rally in Bozeman, Montana, Republican nominee Donald Trump said, "Starting on Day 1, we will end inflation and make America affordable again" (ABC News; date from PolitiFact). In an Aug. 14 speech in Asheville, N.C., he said prices would "come down fast" and set a goal of cutting energy and electricity prices in half. NY1 reported he put that goal at 12 to 18 months, not day one. On Aug. 15 at Bedminster, N.J., next to tables of groceries, he said "When I win, I will immediately bring prices down," which CNN quoted as going on "starting on Day One." He was not in office, so nothing had been delivered yet. The price index released Aug. 14 showed prices up 2.9% over the 12 months to July, the smallest rise since March 2021, and up 0.2% from June. Prices were still rising, just more slowly.

  • ABC News article
    Starting on Day 1, we will end inflation and make America affordable again
  • CNN article
    Prices will come down and come down dramatically and come down fast
  • notus.org article
    He walked out to meet reporters next to tables stacked with groceries, intended to send a signal about inflation.

Sources: ABC News reliable · notus.org needs a second source · CNN reliable · CNN reliable