Has Trump kept his promise to deal with rising prices?

President Donald Trump came to power for the second time on the back of a central campaign to tackle inflation.

The rapidly rising cost of living is at the top of voters’ minds and Trump blamed President Joe Biden.

He also made profane promises to bring down prices for Americans “starting one day”.

A year from his victory, the caution of the BBC is to change some of the claims of the President.

“If I win, I’m going to bring down the prices immediately, starting day one,” Trump declared at a news conference surrounded by packaged foods, milk, meat.

Official data — which includes the four-month period when Biden was still president — It shows grocery prices rising by 2.7% in the 12 months to September 2025some things that see the biggest increase:

• Coffee: 18.9%
• Ground beef (minced beef): 12.9%
• Banana: 6.9%

Since Trump took office in January, the data also shows that except for one recorded fall in April, Grocery prices are rising every month.

“The President of the United States has very little control over food prices, especially in the short term,” food professor David Ortega told BBC Verify.

Trump’s tariffs are driving up the prices of some foods, he said – a third of the coffee consumed in the US comes from Brazil and therefore has a 50% tariff.

Trump’s illegal crackdown could also have an impact, Ortega added, especially in agriculture where 40% of workers are estimated to be undocumented, which is close to a million people.

“As you know, farmers and companies have to raise wages to attract more labor. But trying to quantify the effects of price growth is almost impossible at the moment.”

Diane Swronk, the chief economist for KPMG, believes that tariff changes and immigration changes have contributed to higher costs.

“There is no question that these transfers are now starting to show as inflationary pressures,” he said.

But he added that other factors, including weather events, contributed.

“In coffee you have climate issues for a very bad growing season and that is exacerbated by a tariff in Brazil and also Colombia,” he said.

A White House official told the BBC that President Trump has not controlled South American weather patterns and coffee prices which are a global phenomenon.

Data tracking the cost of coffee Prices show that they have risen all over the world, eating in February, but now they are falling.

The same official said that the President responded to the increase in the price of beef by temporarily increasing imports.

While grocery prices are up overall, not every item has become more expensive.

When Trump defeated Biden in January, The price of a dozen large eggs is $4.93 (£3.79), up from a record high of $6.23 (£4.78) in March following outbreaks of bird flu.

Since then prices have fallen to $3.49 (£2.68) a dozen.

“President Trump’s supply policies are Joe Biden’s inflation crisis,” White House spokesman Kush NAII said.

Other items that have fallen in price over the past 12 months include: butter and margarine (-2%), ice cream (-0.7%) and frozen vegetables (-0%).

During his campaign, Trump promised to cut electricity bills.

“Under my administration we will stabilize energy and electricity prices for half of 12 months, at most 18 months,” he said at a rally in August 2024.

Since he became president, prices have risen.

The most recent figures show the average electricity rates 17.62 Cents per KWH (kilowatt hour) in August 2025 – Coming from 15.94 cents per KWH in January 2025, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

“It’s not technically possible [to halve prices] At the time he made the promise, “According to Professor James Sweeney from the Stanford Arpourt Institute for energy.

Electricity prices not only reflect the cost of generation but also the cost of delivering it through “wires and transformers and everything else”, he explained.

Prof Sweeney identified the rise of both demand and supply issues.

“We have a surge in demand driven by data centers. People creating images using artificial intelligence are using significant electricity.”

He added that cuts to energy subsidies and tariffs on imported steel – which raised the cost of building new power generators – also pushed up prices.

Swonk agrees that the AI ​​Boom is driving up prices, especially for those with lower incomes.

“This increases inequality because consumers with more access to solar panels and renewables tend to be wealthier households,” he said.

In response a White House official said that Trump is increasing coal, natural gas and nuclear power, which is “the only good way to meet the growing energy demand”.

At a campaign rally in September 2024, Trump expanded his grocery pledge on cars, telling supporters: “We’re moving prices … groceries, cars, everything”.

However, The average price of a new car is above $50,000 (£38,411) for the first time in September, from $48,283 (£37,092) in January According to the US Valuation Research Company.

Car prices usually increase by 2-3% a year, explains the joy of erin from Cox Cars.

“Tariffs, which have been the biggest factor in the automotive industry in the last 12 months, are nothing inflationary.”

He explained that new car prices are increasing by 4% a year, with tariffs contributing at least one percentage point.

“We really think in 2026 it will go much higher because most manufacturers are holding their fire to raise their prices directly because of the tariffs, but they have to come to some point.”

Keating pointed to Trump’s tax breaks for people to spend, which he believes will discourage people from buying new cars.

When asked about the increase in the price of cars, a BOTH House official told the administration that it has taken historic regulatory actions and restructuring billions in the last year.