Has Trump kept his promise to tackle rising prices?

President Donald Trump came to power for the second time on the promise of fighting inflation in his central election campaign.

The sharp rise in the cost of living was on the agenda of voters, and Trump blamed President Joe Biden.

He also made sweeping promises to lower prices for Americans “starting on day one.”

A year after his victory, BBC Verify revisits some of the president’s claims.

“When I win, I will immediately lower prices, starting on Day One,” Trump said at a press conference in August 2024, surrounded by packaged foods, dairy, meat and eggs.

Official data covering the four-month period during which Biden was still president – shows grocery prices rising 2.7% in the 12 months to September 2025Some items saw significantly sharper increases:

• Coffee: 18.9%
• Ground meat (ground meat): 12.9%
• Banana: 6.9%

Since Trump took office in January, data has been flat, except for a decline recorded in April. Grocery prices increased every month.

“The US president has little control over food prices, especially in the short term,” food economist Professor David Ortega told BBC Verify.

He said Trump’s tariffs have increased the prices of certain foods; One-third of the coffee consumed in the United States comes from Brazil and is therefore subject to a 50% tariff.

Ortega adds that Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration may also have an impact; especially in farming, where it is estimated that 40 percent of workers are undocumented, close to a million people.

“As you know, farmers and companies have to raise wages to attract more labor. But trying to measure these effects in terms of price increases is almost impossible right now.”

Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG, believes tariff and immigration policy changes have contributed to rising costs.

“There is no doubt that these changes are now starting to manifest themselves as inflationary pressure,” he said.

But he adds that other factors, including weather events, also contribute.

“You had climate issues with coffee due to a very bad growing season, and that was exacerbated by tariffs on Brazil and Colombia,” he said.

A White House official told BBC Verify that President Trump does not control the weather in South America and that coffee price increases are a global event.

Data tracking the cost of coffee It shows that prices rose globally, peaking in February but now starting to fall.

The same official said the president is addressing rising beef prices by temporarily increasing imports.

While grocery prices have risen overall, not every item has become more expensive.

When Trump replaced Biden in January, a dozen large eggs cost $4.93 (£3.79) rose to a record high of $6.23 (£4.78) in March following bird flu outbreaks.

Prices have since dropped to $3.49 (£2.68) per dozen.

“President Trump’s supply-side policies are taming Joe Biden’s inflation crisis,” White House Spokesperson Kush Desai said.

Other items that have fallen in price over the last 12 months include: butter and margarine (-2%), ice cream (-0.7%) and frozen vegetables (-0.7%).

Trump promised to sharply reduce utility bills during his campaign.

“Under my administration, we will cut energy and electricity prices in half within 12 months, with a maximum of 18 months,” he said at a rally in August 2024.

Prices have increased since he became president.

Latest figures show average residential electricity rates achieved 17.62 cents per kWh (kilowatt hour) in August 2025 -Increased to 15.94 cents per kWh in January 2025, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

“It was technically impossible [to halve prices] He promised when he promised, according to Professor James Sweeney of Stanford’s Precourt Energy Institute.

He explained that electricity prices reflect not only the cost of generation but also the cost of distributing electricity through “cables, transformers and everything else.”

Prof Sweeney attributes the increase to both demand and supply issues.

“We’re experiencing a surge in demand, mostly from data centers. People creating images using AI are using significant amounts of electricity.”

He added that cuts in renewable energy subsidies and tariffs on imported steel, which increase the cost of building new energy generators, have also increased prices.

Swonk agrees that the AI ​​boom is driving up prices, especially for those on lower incomes.

“This further exacerbates inequality because consumers with greater access to solar panels and renewable energy sources tend to be wealthier households,” he said.

In response, a White House official said Trump was expanding coal, natural gas and nuclear power, saying it was “the only viable way to meet growing energy demand and lower energy prices.”

At a campaign rally in September 2024, Trump extended his grocery commitment to cars, telling supporters: “We’re going to lower prices… groceries, cars, everything.”

But, The average price of a new car exceeds $50,000 It rose for the first time in September (£38,411) from $48,283 (£37,092) in January, according to US vehicle valuation research firm Kelley Blue Book.

Cox Automotive’s Erin Keating explained that car prices typically increase 2-3% per year.

“Tariffs, the biggest driver of the automotive industry in the last 12 months, have been nothing but inflation.”

He explained that new car prices are rising at about 4% a year, with tariffs contributing at least a percentage point.

“We really think it’s going to go even higher in 2026 because most of the manufacturers continue to raise prices because of direct tariffs, but at some point they’re going to have to come around.”

Keating said he believes tax cuts for people in Trump’s spending bill could encourage people to buy new cars.

When asked about rising car prices, a White House official told BBC Verify that the administration was taking historic regulatory steps to “reverse the left’s radical energy scam and save billions of dollars a year.”