Donald Trump Amplifies Stunning Message amid Looming Recession Fears
President Donald Trump reposted an unexpected message about egg prices as they continue to skyrocket across the United States and fears of a recession grow louder.
Over the weekend, the president posted a link to an article with the headline “Shut Up About Egg Prices ― Trump Is Saving Consumers Millions,” written by right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, on Truth Social.
In the article, Kirk reacted to egg costs, which have grown exponentially in recent weeks as inflation rises and the bird flu outbreak worsens. Echoing a recent talking point from Trump's White House, Kirk placed the whole of the blame on former President Joe Biden, also claiming that — even if there's no quick end in sight for the grocery issue — Trump is focused on saving Americans money elsewhere.
Lowering the costs of grocery items and other goods was one of Trump's biggest 2024 campaign promises. He vowed back in August that he would "immediately bring prices down, starting on day one” if he was elected.
After Trump was sworn in and the economy continued facing challenges, the White House changed its tune and acknowledged that the president has limited control over some sources of inflation — the last spike of which was due to factors like the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
During a White House press briefing in late January, press secretary Karoline Leavitt discussed the cost of poultry products and blamed Biden for rising prices with "everything" across the country.
Trump also shifted the blame, telling Fox News host Sean Hannity in February, per HuffPost, that while “inflation is back,” he wasn’t to blame for it. “I’m only here for two and a half weeks ... I had nothing to do with it.”
Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board previously told CNN that people should expect to continue to see high prices for a carton of eggs until the bird flu is no longer detected.
“Not to be the bearer of bad news, but we’re in this for a while,” Metz told the outlet of egg shortages. “Until we have time without a detection, unfortunately this very, very tight egg supply is going to continue.”
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The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which is part of the Department of Agriculture, noted on its website that “there is no treatment” for bird flu and the only way to “stop the disease is to depopulate all affected and exposed poultry" — a process that the Biden administration began before he left office.
Egg prices are only a small piece of the economic fears that are dominating the global conversation right now, as Trump also imposes steep tariffs on international imports, which economists expect to cause another spike in inflation.
Amid Trump's flip-flopping plans for international tariffs — and other countries' retaliatory measures against the United States — the stock market has proven unstable and sparked fears of a looming recession.
The Dow Jones closed lower by 890 points on Monday, March 10, while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ also saw steep losses, according to CNN. The NASDAQ even posted its biggest single-day decline since September 2022, the outlet reported.
“I would have said a couple of months ago a recession was really unlikely this year. Now, it’s probably not 50/50, but getting close to 50/50,” former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers told CNN on Monday. “There is one central reason. Economic policies that are completely counterproductive.”
Trump himself has also refused to rule out a recession, saying on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo: “I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big.”
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