Tariffs will be Trump’s most inflationary policy, but many of his other hallmark policies aren’t much better
Inflation is still a nagging worry for Americans, says Josh Kraushaar
Panelists Trey Gowdy, Francesca Chambers and Josh Kraushaar discuss continued concerns surrounding the state of the economy on ‘Special Report.’
One month into his term, President Trump is making America expensive again, and everyone is feeling the pain.
Last year, President Donald Trump ran against inflation, saying when he accepted the Republican presidential nomination last July and throughout his campaign that "starting on day one, we will drive down prices and make America affordable again."
His narrow victory in November – the smallest popular vote margin of any winner in more than half a century – was powered by voters eager for him to make good on that promise. In poll after poll before and after the election, the economy and inflation consistently ranked as voters’ top issue.
President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) annual meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, Feb. 22, 2025. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
After one month, we’re beginning to see the direction Trump is taking our economy, and it’s not pretty. Groceries are more expensive than ever. The price of eggs is setting new records every day. Inflation is back over 3% for the first time in eight months. The nonpartisan experts at the Federal Reserve expect inflation to keep rising.
TRUMPONOMICS WILL TAME INFLATION--NOT MAKE IT WORSE
It’s no wonder that there’s only been one president in modern history who has been less popular with the American people after one month in office than Donald Trump is right now: Trump again, back in 2017.
Trump is claiming that this month’s high inflation isn’t his fault, trying to shift the blame back to the Biden administration. Trump wanted credit for the stock market’s surge in November, three months before he was sworn into office, but since the economic news is less rosy now that he’s in office, he’s trying to shift the blame.
In Trump’s world, the buck never stops with him. The American people disagree. In recent polls, almost two-thirds of voters say he isn’t doing enough to address costs. Voters don’t care about who’s responsible. They want the problem solved, and they don’t think Trump is getting it done.
No matter who you blame, it’s a fact that Trump’s policies will only push prices higher going forward. Right now, the biggest contributors to those record-high egg prices are fears about bird flu, which has infected poultry flocks in all 50 states and already killed at least one American. The administration’s response? Firing U.S. Department of Agriculture employees working to contain the outbreak.
NEW POLL SHOWS WHAT AMERICANS THINK OF TRUMP'S PERFORMANCE IN SECOND TERM
The administration has also defunded and shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, making it easier for big banks to take advantage of average Americans, raising their costs through hidden fines and fees.
Over the coming months, Trump’s policies will continue to push prices higher, none more than his aggressive tariff proposals. He has already imposed an additional 10% tariff on everything we import from China – one of our three largest trading partners. In less than two weeks, he has promised to implement additional 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada – our other two largest trading partners – followed soon after by 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum, automobiles, pharmaceuticals and microchips.
Tariffs are simply a tax that gets passed down to consumers. If a retailer pays an additional 10% or 25% to import a refrigerator or a car, the company is simply going to increase the sticker price at the store. As more of Trump’s tariffs go into effect, costs will rise on everything from the Canadian lumber we use to build our houses to Mexican tomatoes and lemons we buy at the supermarket.
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The tariffs will be Trump’s most inflationary policy in the coming months, but many of his other hallmark policies aren’t much better.
We do need to secure our border, but mass deportations will send the costs of food and housing skyrocketing once we’ve removed half of our farmworkers and a fifth of our construction workers. Repealing the Inflation Reduction Act, as Trump has repeatedly said he wants to do, will eliminate the $35 per month cap on insulin prices for seniors and raise prescription drug prices across the board for millions of Americans.
Meanwhile, Trump’s policies that are supposed to curb rising costs are unlikely to be successful. He has claimed he’s going to bring down the cost of energy by increasing oil production, but it will be hard to go much higher than the record levels of oil and gas production set during the Biden administration.
The Trump administration’s disastrous attempts to cut government spending won’t help with inflation either: as DOGE fires food safety inspectors and air traffic controllers, the chaos in the marketplace will drive prices up.
All of this is bad news for Americans who just want cheaper groceries. Trump’s first month hasn’t gone well. Unless he changes direction, it’s only going to get worse.
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Democrat Chris Coons represents Delaware in the United States Senate.
