Trump now says bringing down grocery prices, as he promised, will be ‘very hard’
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(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump campaigned relentlessly on grocery prices in the 2024 race, vowing to bring down costs quickly for American families if given four more years in the White House.
But in an interview with Time in conjunction with being named the magazine’s “Person of the Year,” Trump now says doing that will be a “very hard” task.
Trump was asked if his presidency would be considered a “failure” if he didn’t deliver on his promise to slash Americans’ food bills.
“I don’t think so. Look, they got them up,” referring to the Biden-Harris administration. “I’d like to bring them down. It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard,” Trump said.
The president-elect then added he believed lower prices were possible through boosting energy production and solving supply chain issues.
“But I think that they will. I think that energy is going to bring them down. I think a better supply chain is going to bring them down. You know, the supply chain is still broken. It’s broken,” Trump said.
Just last week, Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he won the election because of immigration and the economy.
“I won on the border, and I won on groceries,” he told NBC’s Kristen Welker. “Very simple word, groceries. Like almost — you know, who uses the word? I started using the word — the groceries. When you buy apples, when you buy bacon, when you buy eggs, they would double and triple the price over a short period of time, and I won an election based on that. We’re going to bring those prices way down.”
Exit polls showed deep discontent with the economy was a big factor in driving voters to Trump.
Inflation spiked to more than 9% during the Biden-Harris administration, a 40-year high. Negative views on the economy plagued President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, with the share of people saying they’ve gotten worse off under the current administration surpassing even Great Recession levels, according to exit poll analysis.
Inflation has since cooled to 2.7% as of November. The latest CPI report found some food items like rice, flour and bacon fell over the past year. But the cost of eggs skyrocketed because of an avian flu outbreak.
Trump said he will bring down prices through increasing American energy production, though domestic oil production under the Biden administration’s reached record levels, as well as through tariffs.
The latter proposal has sparked alarm from many economists, who warn consumers will ultimately be saddled with the effects of slapping taxes on imported goods.
Trump so far proposed high tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada. Mexico and Canada account for the United States’ first and third largest suppliers of agricultural products, according to the Departure of Agriculture.
Asked by NBC’s Welker if he could guarantee Americans won’t pay more because of tariffs, Trump demurred.
“I can’t guarantee anything. I can’t guarantee tomorrow,” he said before going on to claim that before the coronavirus pandemic he had the “greatest economy in the history of our country.”
(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary Pete Hegseth met on Wednesday with another moderate Republican whose vote will be closely watched in his confirmation battle.
Hegseth sat down with Maine Sen. Susan Collins as he continues to make the rounds to shore up support amid allegations of sexual impropriety and other misconduct, which he denies.
Afterward, he described it as a “great meeting.”
“Office after office, having the opportunity to spend time with these senators who have invested their careers in ensuring that our warfighters get what they need, has been amazing educational process,” Hegseth said. “And Senator Collins, like her colleagues before her reiterated that.
“It was a wonderful conversation focused on what needs to be done to make sure this Pentagon is focused on warfighting and lethality, and we look forward to stay in touch with her,” he added.
Hegseth added he was “certainly not going to assume anything about where the senator stands” as he was peppered with questions by reporters.
Collins called it a “good, substantive discussion” for more than an hour on everything from women’s role in the military and sexual assault in the military to Ukraine and NATO.
“I asked virtually every question under the sun,” Collins said. “I pressed him on both his position on military issues as well as the allegations against him.”
Collins did not voice support for Hegseth, instead saying she’d wait until further vetting of Hegseth before deciding how to vote.
“I, obviously, always wait until we have an FBI background check, and one is underway in the case of Mr. Hegseth, and I wait to see the committee hearing before reaching a final decision,” she said.
Their meeting came on the heels of his meeting on Tuesday with Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is viewed as another possible GOP swing vote. Murkowski said they had a “good exchange” but did not indicate whether she’d been swayed to support him.
Hegseth is one of many Trump administration picks who’ve been on Capitol Hill this week.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, tapped to lead the Department of Homeland Security, met with various Republican senators on Tuesday.
When departing a meeting with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Noem was asked if she’d support Trump’s plan for mass deportations of migrants living in the U.S. without legal permission. Deportations were a central promise of Trump’s 2024 campaign.
“I am going to enforce the president’s agenda,” Noem responded.
Noem also left the door open for a deal with Democrats to protect “Dreamers,” or migrants brought illegally to the U.S. as young children. Trump floated the idea during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” despite his attempts to undermine the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program during his first administration.
“You know, I appreciate the president’s word on this issue, and I know he wants our laws to be followed, so I’ll work with him to get his vision accomplished,” Noem said.
Noem was back for meetings on Wednesday, including one with Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. Noem said she hoped for bipartisan support in her confirmation bid.
Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for FBI director, and Tulsi Gabbard, his choice for director of national intelligence, have also been spotted walking the halls of the Hart Senate Office Building.
For Patel to fill the role, current FBI Director Christopher Wray would need to resign or be fired.
Several Republican senators expressed this week they’d be fine with Wray being forced out or stepping aside.
“I like Director Wray but I think it’s time for a fresh start at the FBI,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham.
“Obviously, Director Wray would be fired. That is obvious,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin.
(BUTLER, Pa.) — Former President Donald Trump is making his return to the site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, for a rally on Saturday — a moment the campaign hopes will spur inspiration among his fervent supporters as they come together to honor the victims who died during the July shooting.
“I’m going back to Butler because I feel I have an obligation to go back to Butler. We never finished what we were supposed to do,” Trump said earlier this week in an interview with NewsNation. “I said that day, when I was shot, I said, ‘We’re coming back. We’re going to come back.’ And I’m fulfilling a promise. I’m fulfilling, really, an obligation.”
Trump’s rally is taking place at Butler Farm Show, the exact same location as the outdoor rally where he was shot in the right ear nearly three months ago. One main difference this time around: security will be tighter.
Security will be of utmost concern during Trump’s remarks after lapses in security plans led to the gunman being able to scale an unmanned building. Security personnel have already started increased measures. For example, a secure perimeter was enacted around the fairground earlier than usual as the campaign started to set up the rally site.
The campaign quickly worked in the weeks after the July attempt to secure an October rally date at the site, knowing the significance of having Trump return to a place where he survived an assassination attempt for the first time.
The campaign told ABC News the family of Corey Comperatore, the man who was killed at Trump’s rally while shielding his family, along with one of the two supporters who were injured, David Dutch, will be in attendance on Saturday.
Several of Trump’s allies are expected to attend in a show of force, including tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who posted his plans on X, and Pennsylvania senatorial candidate Dave McCormick, who was just about to walk onstage before shots rang out.
Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, will also appear with Trump.
With exactly a month until Election Day, Saturday’s Butler rally will be an opportunity for Trump, if he can stay on message, to rally his base behind him in the sprint to November, just as he was able to do in the days after he was shot.
After being struck in the ear, Trump was briefly taken to the ground by Secret Service agents covering him until he rose back up moments after, pumping his first in the air with a bloody ear, shouting “Fight, fight, fight!”
The moment has since become a central messaging of his campaign, Trump and his supporters often chanting, “Fight, fight, fight!” at campaign rallies and his campaign frequently using Trump’s image of pumping his fist after surviving an assassination attempt as a symbol of his defiant campaign just days ahead of the critical week of the Republican National Convention.
Counter snipers in Trump’s Secret Service immediately killed the shooter, identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, but the incident stirred a flurry of questions regarding the security of the former president, prompting U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to step down and Trump to only hold indoor rallies for a few weeks after the attack.
Just nine weeks after the shooting in Butler, Trump had a second apparent assassination attempt on his life while he was out golfing at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida. More recently, it was revealed that there were assassination threats from Iran against Trump as well.
In the wake of both incidents, the former president was granted presidential-level security as his campaign has been forced to grapple with new security protocols in the planning of his campaign events.
Trump has gradually started holding a limited number of big and small outdoor campaign events again, including in Asheboro, North Carolina, on Aug. 21, where he was seen surrounded by bulletproof protective glass for the first time as he spoke in front of thousands of supporters gathered at an outdoor aviation museum.
As the campaign prepares for its high-profile rally on Saturday, they’ve said that the rally will be about honoring the victims and their family and expressing thanks to law enforcement and the Pennsylvania community; however, it comes as in recent weeks Trump has escalated his attacks, veering into dark rhetoric on the road.
After once calling for unity, Trump now blames rhetoric from Democrats as the reason behind threats on his life.
In the immediate aftermath of his attack at Butler, Trump called for both sides to tone down their rhetoric against each other — a posture that ended relatively quickly for Trump, who returned to his usual attacks.
While addressing the country after officially being nominated Republican presidential candidate at the RNC in Milwaukee, Trump said, “just like our ancestors, we must now come together, rise above past differences.”
“Any disagreements have to be put aside, go forward, united as one people, one nation pledging allegiance to one great beautiful — I think it’s so beautiful — American flag,” he said as he concluded his nomination speech at the RNC.
But just days after that, Trump, at his first rally after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, called his political opponents “dangerous people” and escalated personal attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris — who was shaping up to be Biden’s successor at the time.
“I was supposed to be nice,” Trump said in Charlotte, North Carolina, in late July. “They say something happened to me when I got shot — I became nice.”
“When you’re dealing with these people — they’re very dangerous people — when you’re dealing with them, you can’t be so nice. You really can’t be so — if you don’t mind — I’m not going to be nice. Is that okay?” Trump continued, followed by the crowd chanting, “Fight, fight, fight.”
Just as Trump is returning to Butler, many of the former president’s more ardent supporters have shied away from continuing to attend his rallies.
“It’s kind of like — it almost brings back memories, because it’s almost kind of the same set up,” said one Butler rally attendee, speaking at the Asheboro, North Carolina, rally last month where Trump delivered remarks in front of thousands of supporters outside for the first time since his first assassination attempt.
“At least we got snipers on it. Really, every roof of snipers on it makes me feel more safe. It brings back memories, especially when we go back in October,” he said.
Susan Gibala, of Irwin, Pennsylvania, said she went to a Trump rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, just after she survived the Butler rally, and has continued to feel safe at Trump rallies.
“To be honest with you, this is one of the safest places. And I know that I was in Butler when that happened. And I know that sounds very strange to say, but I feel like these are the safest places I could be,” Gibala said, attending another Trump rally in Indiana, Pennsylvania, last month.
“So it hasn’t really changed me in that sense. I know a lot of my friends, they had to take time out. They had to really work through some things, but I just believe this is one of the safest places to be.”
(WASHINGTON) — As the bipartisan group No Labels attempted to field a third-party independent bid in the 2024 presidential race, several of its opponents aggressively attempted to sabotage its operations in hopes of preventing the group from moving forward, according to a lawsuit the group has filed.
A lawsuit filed initially against NoLabels.com Inc. in the U.S. District Court of Delaware in December of 2023 alleges that some in the Democratic Party undertook deliberate efforts to undermine the group, ultimately forcing it to halt operations. No Labels is now seeking to recover monetary damages as a result.
NoLabels.com Inc., which was created to mimic the real No Labels website – NoLabels.org, is believed to be incorporated in Delaware, according to the suit.
Documents unsealed in the case allegedly show how a handful of Democratic strategists operating under the fake NoLabels.com banner attempted to use fear tactics to raise uncertainty among No Labels supporters and donors, drive skepticism in the media, and question the authenticity and scope of the centrist group. At one point, operatives even viciously targeted No Labels founder Nancy Jacobson, as well as candidates interested in serving on its “Unity Ticket.”
One document included a business deck orchestrated by a group of political operatives called the American Patriots Project (APP) to imitate No Labels’ website with the purchase of the NoLabels.com domain as well as Google search ads. According to the deck, the operatives attempted to mislead voters and paint the centrist group as Christo-nationalists and featured images of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaking on behalf of the group. The saboteurs’ goal was to imply that No Labels was a right-wing shadow effort. Furthermore, the proposal attempted to falsely fixate on “red meat issues” such as immigration and anti-abortion messaging.
U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware Judge Gregory B. Williams issued a court order for the operatives to take down the NoLabels.com website; however, No Labels believes that there were more attempts to disavow their operations.
No Labels subpoenaed APP on Nov. 5 seeking to uncover more information.
Democratic strategists with ties to American Bridge — which calls itself the largest research, video tracking, and rapid response organization affiliated with the Democratic Party — also attempted to single out donors, according to a three-step proposal in one email listed in court documents. As donors engaged in conversation, strategists would suggest that their money was being mismanaged with inefficient or wasteful spending. These strategists also attempted to misinform the media about No Labels’ goals.
ABC News has reached out for comment to American Bridge but has not gotten a reply.
Earlier this week, No Labels leaders updated supporters on a Zoom call.
“We believe in democracy in this organization, and obviously some people didn’t want us to live democracy out the way we were living it,” Mike Rawlings, the group’s national convention chairman, told the call before tossing to Dan Webb, a No Labels board member, who updated supporters on the legal findings.
Webb notified supporters that they called on the Department of Justice to look into any potential illegal conduct.
“I think one of the defining stories will be that it’s just wrong for a group of elite donors, party operatives, media mouthpieces to actually decide that the way, the way we should protect democracy is to make sure we have less of it,” Webb said.
Most of the No Labels “family members” on the call were infuriated with the allegations and pleaded for national exposure, suggesting outlets like “60 Minutes” or Joe Rogan’s podcast to spread awareness. Overall, the call was an opportunity for supporters to air their grievances.
“I agree wholeheartedly with publicizing this as much as possible, and not making it seem like it’s just normal politics,” one supporter said.
“This is not acceptable; they’ve interfered with the democratic process here,” another supporter added.
Asked if the efforts were “just politics” or “dirty politics,” No Labels leaders suggested it went beyond that.
“I’m a strong believer in the First Amendment, and political speech is absolutely protected by the First Amendment, but the law is also clear that you cannot violate the law and claim that even though you violated the law, you were just engaging in politics,” Webb said.
He continued, “I believe we did the right thing by reporting the information to the Department of Justice, and whatever the Department of Justice decides to do, they decide to do.”
One supporter suggested that the scandal sounded like Watergate and questioned whether it was worth pursuing lawsuits. Another supporter told No Labels leaders to focus on the Problem Solvers Caucus in Congress and dismiss the past.
“We should focus on the fact that no candidate received a majority in this election,” one supporter suggested. “Our need is to focus on fixing Congress. So I think we need to balance this very carefully and not focus on a way that distracts from one main issue, and casts us as being associated with the Trump administration.”
Back in April, the group halted its efforts when it was unable to find a candidate that had a credible path to winning with its bipartisan platform.
No Labels intended to offer a different choice than the presumptive presidential nominees at that time — incumbent President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump — to citizens who yearned for something new instead of a repeat of the 2020 election. As they entered the race in March, they suggested their internal polling showed more than 70% of Americans said they’d be open to another option.
The group intends to meet with supporters in Washington, D.C., in December to create a plan to deal with the new Congress and work with congressional leaders.
-ABC News’ Nicholas Kerr contributed to this report.
