Commentary by Stephen Macaulay
In an interview with Bret Baier on Fox News November 5, Baier read a statement from a North Carolinian retiree who is a Trump supporter (voted for him three times) to President Trump. She was concerned about the price of goods being so high.
In his inimitable way, Trump responded, “Beef we have to get down. I think of groceries — it’s an old-fashion word, but it’s a beautiful word. Beef we have to get down, but we have prices way down.”
Adding, “And think of this: energy. She drives a car, probably, and her energy prices are way down. And energy is so all-encompassing, it’s so big, that when energy goes down, everything comes down.”
There’s a bit of problem with that.
Prices are not “way down” as the chart from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics at the top of the column indicates.
While that might be tough to read, here are a couple of highlights.
In September 2024, back in the Bad Old Days of Biden, chicken cost $1.98 per pound.
Now recall Trump campaigned heavily on the claim that he was going to bring down the price of “the groceries.”
Chicken in September 2025?
$2.06.
That’s a 4% increase. And while that may seem small, it is in a direction he claimed it wouldn’t be.
He is right about beef. A pound of ground chuck in September 2025 was $6.33. During the Biden administration, in September 2024 it was $5.58.
A gallon of milk? $4.02 under Biden. $4.13 under Trump.
And so it goes.
Again, keep in mind that while the amounts may be small, it is all additive.
Now the argument about energy being “so all-encompassing” is true.
Whether it is the woman driving to the grocery store to buy goods or the trucks that brought the goods to the store or the farm equipment involved in getting the food ready for market, fuel is necessary. And let’s not forget about natural gas to provide heating and the electricity to keep the lights on.
So if her energy prices, as well as those of the rest of the supply chain, “are way down,” then things should at the very least be better.
Again to the September 2024-to-September 2025 comparison with Bureau of Labor Statistics stats:
- Electricity per kWh: $0.18 to $0.19
- Gasoline per gallon: $3.34 to $3.34
- Piped gas per therm: $1.40 to $1.61
It is probably a good thing for the job security of US Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer that the Bureau of Labor Statistics is closed because of the federal shutdown, because stats like these aren’t particularly helpful to the president’s argument.
Macaulay is pundit-at-large for The Hustings.