President Donald Trump was swept to power for a second time on the back of a central campaign promise to tackle inflation.
The steep rise in the cost of living was top of voters' minds and Trump blamed President Joe Biden. He also made sweeping promises to bring down prices for Americans starting on day one.
One year on from his victory, BBC Verify revisits some of the president's claims.
The steep rise in the cost of living was top of voters' minds and Trump blamed President Joe Biden. He also made sweeping promises to bring down prices for Americans starting on day one.
One year on from his victory, BBC Verify revisits some of the president's claims.
Groceries
When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One, Trump declared at an August 2024 news conference surrounded by packaged foods, milk, meats, and eggs.
Official data - which includes a four-month period when Biden was still president - shows grocery prices rose by 2.7% in the 12 months to September 2025, with some items seeing significantly sharper increases:
The president of the United States has very little control over the price of food, especially in the short term, food economics expert Professor David Ortega told BBC Verify. Trump's tariffs are driving up prices of certain foods, he said - a third of coffee consumed in the US comes from Brazil and therefore has a 50% tariff.
Trump's illegal immigration crackdown may also have impacted prices, particularly in agriculture where as many as 40% of workers are estimated to be undocumented, thus affecting labor costs.
As you know, farmers and companies have to raise wages in order to attract more labor. But trying to quantify those impacts in terms of price increase is almost impossible at the moment, he added.
Official data - which includes a four-month period when Biden was still president - shows grocery prices rose by 2.7% in the 12 months to September 2025, with some items seeing significantly sharper increases:
- Coffee: 18.9%
- Ground beef (minced beef): 12.9%
- Bananas: 6.9%
The president of the United States has very little control over the price of food, especially in the short term, food economics expert Professor David Ortega told BBC Verify. Trump's tariffs are driving up prices of certain foods, he said - a third of coffee consumed in the US comes from Brazil and therefore has a 50% tariff.
Trump's illegal immigration crackdown may also have impacted prices, particularly in agriculture where as many as 40% of workers are estimated to be undocumented, thus affecting labor costs.
As you know, farmers and companies have to raise wages in order to attract more labor. But trying to quantify those impacts in terms of price increase is almost impossible at the moment, he added.
Electricity
During his campaign, Trump pledged to cut electricity bills sharply.
Under my administration we will be slashing energy and electricity prices by half within 12 months, at a maximum 18 months, he told a rally in August 2024. However, prices have risen since he took office.
Average residential electricity rates reached 17.62 cents per kWh in August 2025, up from 15.94 cents per kWh in January 2025.
It was technically impossible [to halve prices] at the time he made the promise, according to Professor James Sweeney from the Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy.
Under my administration we will be slashing energy and electricity prices by half within 12 months, at a maximum 18 months, he told a rally in August 2024. However, prices have risen since he took office.
Average residential electricity rates reached 17.62 cents per kWh in August 2025, up from 15.94 cents per kWh in January 2025.
It was technically impossible [to halve prices] at the time he made the promise, according to Professor James Sweeney from the Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy.
Cars
At a campaign rally in September 2024, Trump extended his pledge to include car prices. However, the average price of a new car topped $50,000 for the first time ever in September 2025. Car prices typically rise 2-3% a year, with tariffs being a substantial inflationary factor.
Gasoline
Trump made a specific campaign pledge of getting gasoline below $2 a gallon. On the day he entered the White House, the average price for a gallon of gas was $3.125. While the price has dropped slightly to $3.079, it remains far from the promised levels.
