President Donald Trump and his administration are facing several challenges ahead of the midterm elections as high grocery prices continue to upset voters about the economy.
An Associated Press-NORC poll found 80 percent of Americans had changed their grocery habits because of high prices, while 41 percent worried about affording food in the months ahead.
Donald Trump attempts to lower beef prices before the election
The problem has arrived less than three months before voters head to the polls, while Republicans hope to protect their congressional majorities.
“The White House understands prices are too high and we’ve got to do everything in our power to make it look like, ‘Hey, we understand your problem and we’re out there and we’re going to do everything we can to bring prices down between now and Election Day,’” a person close to the White House told Politico.
The urgency explains Trump’s latest move on America’s most expensive grocery staple: beef. It has become a particularly painful item for shoppers due to rising costs.
Government data shows that Ground beef averaged $6.89 per pound last month. That’s slightly higher than May, when it was priced at $6.75. When Trump returned to the White House, it was only $5.55.
So the president has decided to target the problem and announced a plan to temporarily remove duties on 300,000 metric tons of imported beef.
Since suppliers agreed to sell the product at a 25% discount, the administration will ensure the benefit reaches consumers.
“We want to get the beef prices down, so we’ll get them down a little bit and that’s what people want. That’s what the voters want,” Trump said last week.
The White House is betting on giving shoppers some relief before the midterms arrive in November. However, economists are unsure about how much the policy will actually impact supermarket prices.
Donald Trump’s prime supporters feel abandoned after the beef import
The attempt to ease grocery costs has created an unexpected problem for Trump: the ranchers and agricultural groups who have long supported him aren’t happy.
According to Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA, producers had no warning before Trump unveiled the policy.
“We were blindsided by the announcement,” Bullard said. “We had no inkling that the president was going to continue on that same path that he was on earlier and appeared to have withdrawn and now he’s right back at it again.”
Ranchers are already absorbing the shock of higher diesel and fertilizer costs, while the U.S. cattle herd sits near historic lows.
Now, the cheaper foreign beef could make it harder for them to have a return on their investments.
One Florida rancher said the family has used savings and retirement funds to keep the operation afloat.
“It’s frustrating when they make it seem like they want to help,” the rancher said. “That’s great. Please help us. But they don’t really understand what they’re saying, what they’re proposing, what it’s going to do to the market or to the people that are living these lives.”
The ranchers and farmers helped build his political base, so Trump is in a delicate spot because he needs to bring down grocery prices without alienating the agricultural voters who have long stood by him.
