The White House has lashed out after a news website accused Donald Trump of “taking credit” for a Walmart discount by revealing that the supermarket’s offer was already in place before he championed it.
Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday that the retail giant would be “dropping the price for a pound of ground beef by almost 15 percent,” which he said had been instigated “at my Administration’s request.”
The following day, The Wall Street Journal reported that a U.S. Department of Agriculture official had called around the big retailers urging them to lower their prices ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, relaying news of Walmart’s promotion to the West Wing and prompting the president’s post.
The Bulwark’s Catherine Rampell then reported that a company spokesperson had told her the offer was part of “one of its regular price ‘Rollback’ events,” which had come into effect “early last week – i.e., the week before Trump blasted out his claim that price cuts were imminent and would be happening at his request.”
Trump administration spokesman Kush Desai duly took to X to hit back. “The President and Walmart’s announcement was that the sale is extending all summer long,” he clarified.
“This is a big win for Americans. The media’s obsessive need to try to undermine any good news when it affects President Trump is pathological.”
Desai’s criticism carries an echo of the president’s regular claim that his enemies are suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” causing them to act and speak out against him.
The Independent also reported on the USDA’s intervention with retailers ahead of the 250th anniversary weekend and was told by Desai: “Walmart’s historic summer-long sale on beef and other essentials is the result of this administration cutting red tape, slashing taxes, and ramping up domestic food production.
“The Trump administration stays in close contact with retailers to ensure savings are getting passed on to American consumers, and results like this prove the strategy is working.”
Walmart declined to comment on the episode but pointed to its press release, which was published just after Trump’s post and revealed that the price of its ground beef was dropping by 12 percent – 3 percent below the figure touted by the president – along with those of other popular items. It made no mention of Trump or his administration.
The average cost of a pound of ground beef in the U.S. was $6.75 as of May, the most recent date for which data is available, a 13 percent increase year-on-year.
Rampell suggested in her piece that the president may have “misunderstood the timing” of the Walmart promotion when he posted about it but argued that his attempt to take ownership was part of a broader pattern of behavior that corporate America was reluctant to stand up to for fear of “retribution” from the Trump administration.
“Trump is the proverbial rooster taking credit for the sunrise,” she wrote. “He looks for opportunities to slap his name on politically useful things that companies were already planning to do – seasonal sales, major investments, hiring, et very much cetera.”
The outrage comes as the president seeks to project a more caring image over the affordability crisis, a major issue for many going into this year’s midterms and one that he has previously dismissed.
“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation,” he said in May when asked about inflation hitting a three-year high. “I don’t think about anybody.”
Voters have consistently told pollsters that they are worried about the price of everyday essentials and Trump’s perceived inaction has sent his approval rating tanking to record lows.
As part of the same shift in strategy, he has also taken to pressuring gas stations to lower the price of fuel, although the return of airstrikes to the Strait of Hormuz, blocking off more oil shipments, may mean that is no longer a realistic expectation.
