As Republicans in 15 states cast their ballots on this Super Tuesday, Donald Trump called in to Fox News, and when asked how he will bring down the price of food at the grocery store, which is Americans’ number one “beef” when asked about their top concerns, he served up just one answer: “drill baby drill.”
Without question, prices at the supermarket have increased even more than the rate of inflation, and continue to do so.
“Grocery prices have jumped by 25 percent over the past four years, outpacing overall inflation of 19 percent during the same period,” The Washington Post reported last month. “And while prices of appliances, smartphones and a smattering of other goods have declined, groceries got slightly more expensive last year, with particularly sharp jumps for beef, sugar and juice, among other items.”
The Post adds that at the supermarket, “prices remain elevated due to a mixture of labor shortages tied to the pandemic, ongoing supply chain disruptions, droughts, avian flu and other factors far beyond the administration’s control. Robust consumer demand has also fueled a shift to more expensive groceries, and consolidation in the industry gives large chains the ability to keep prices high, economic policy experts say.”
What did Donald Trump say on Fox News?
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Here’s how the interview went.
“Mr. President, a lot of people believe that you’re at your best when you’re fighting for the American people,” Fox and Friends co-host Lawrence Jones said. “And we just heard in the diner, we heard immigration as the other top issue with the economy. What are you going to do to give us some relief when it comes to this inflation? People go into the, you know, whether it’s the gas station or to the grocery store and they’re being hit hard. How do you fix that in the first 100 days?”
“Well, first of all, let me speak to the people in the diner,” Trump replied. “I saw the vote, and it was 100% Trump. None for my opponent. And I love you in the diner. I will take care of you and we’re gonna drill baby drill and we’re gonna get prices down, energy’s going to bring it all down.”
“We’re gonna get a lot of that oil, are going to get the oil and gas right from Texas and other places, but from Texas largely, and I just appreciate it,” Trump continued. “I saw that vote early this morning. They said, Will said, Will’s doing a good job, by the way, Will said, you’re for Trump and the whole place went crazy. What about Haley? Nobody, not one person. So all of those people in the diner. I love you.”
Trump’s claim that increasing oil production will bring down prices at the supermarket appears to ignore that right now, the U.S. is producing more oil than at any time in our history.
Not just our history.
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“The U.S. is heading into the New Year as the world’s largest oil producer,” Forbes reported at the end of last year, adding: “the country is in fact currently producing more oil than any other nation in history.”
In fact, the amount of oil the U.S. “is exporting is near the total production of Saudi Arabia or Russia,” one industry expert told Forbes.
A recent CBS News poll found: “More voters expect Biden’s policies to cause price increases, while they tend to think Trump’s policies would lower prices, something Republicans overwhelmingly believe will happen.”
Political science professor David Darmofal, responding to that poll, noted, “Trump wants to place a 10% tax on all imported goods if he gets back into office. That would raise prices for Americans.”
Watch Trump below or at this link.
See the video above or at this link.
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