The White House on Thursday accused the media of having a “pathological” need to undermine President Donald Trump, after his claim that Walmart was lowering food costs at his administration’s request fell apart.
“Great news!” Trump wrote Monday on social media. “I have just been informed that one of the biggest, best, and smartest Retailers in America, Walmart, will be lowering prices, by a lot, at my Administration’s request to celebrate our great Country’s 250th birthday.” He added, “Walmart will, in particular, be dropping the price for a pound of ground beef by almost 15%, among many other products. This is a huge deal for the many millions of Americans who, smartly, shop at Walmart, which is a truly patriotic Company.”
Walmart Confirms Price Cuts, But Timing Disputed
Walmart did confirm Monday that it is lowering prices on beef and multiple other foods. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that an Agriculture Department official had indeed called Walmart and other large grocers to urge them to reduce beef costs.
However, Trump’s narrative began to unravel on Thursday. A Walmart spokesperson confirmed to The Bulwark that the company had actually launched its price cuts last week, before Trump’s announcement. An unnamed source further told the Journal that Walmart had confirmed during its call with the Agriculture Department official that it “already had plans to reduce prices.”
White House Responds Angrily
The White House appeared irate when The Bulwark’s managing editor, Sam Stein, shared the news on X. “The President and Walmart’s announcement was that the sale is extending all summer long,” wrote White House spokesperson Kush Desai. “The media’s obsessive need to try to undermine any good news when it affects President Trump is pathological.”
The White House Rapid Response 47 account on X celebrated Walmart on Thursday for cutting prices. Desai later claimed the lower costs were “the result of this Admin cutting red tape” and that the price reductions “prove the strategy is working.”
Trump’s History of Taking Credit
Walmart’s statement Monday notably made no mention of Trump or his administration. Trump has been known to take credit for others’ achievements and has routinely denied that the U.S. public is struggling with high costs, dismissing affordability concerns as a “scam” concocted by his political opponents.
On Monday, he blamed his predecessor for the high prices plaguing Americans. “My Administration is lowering prices that Joe Biden incompetently raised with the worst inflation crisis in history, a total disaster along with the Southern Border, the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, and many other failures,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
