Happy Thanksgiving! Welcome back to our #TrumpCheck series, the LACDP's newsletter that holds the Trump administration accountable for its lies, deception, and self-serving actions.
Today, millions of Americans will open their homes and tables to their loved ones for Thanksgiving, to share turkey, gravy, and pie in celebration of what they are thankful for. Here at the LACDP, we're grateful for the ongoing probes into Trump's connections to late sex trafficker & convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. I'm willing to bet Trump isn't quite as thankful for that as we are.
In all three of his campaigns for President, Donald Trump touted his economic promises as opportunities to buoy struggling Americans, something that would be particularly valuable in the holiday months as temperatures drop and necessary costs rise. However, in both of his presidencies, he seems to conveniently forget these promises once he has the opportunity to line his own pockets further.
In honor of today's holiday, we are going to unpack some of Trump's promises on the basics. Food on the table, a warm home, clean air to breathe... some of the things many will express gratitude for on Thanksgiving, that Trump has put in jeopardy for millions of people as he continues to get richer.
- A White House report issued on November 6th cites that "President Donald J. Trump promised to crush inflation and lower prices — and he’s delivering this Thanksgiving ... Americans are seeing across-the-board price declines for the holiday staples."
FACT: The cost of food is actually higher than last year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of food for American consumers is up 2.7% from last year.
Marketing ploys from grocery chains (or the White House) that describe grocery costs as decreasing for Thanksgiving foods, are swapping out ingredients and dishes, switching brands, and shrinking portion sizes, in an attempt to portray costs as going down.
As described by the New York Times, "The White House and the retailers don’t explain that the cheaper Thanksgiving meals for sale differ markedly from what they offered last year. It’s similar to comparing apples to oranges, or in this case, corn muffin mix to mac and cheese."
- At a campaign stop in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in August of 2024, Trump emphasized one of his primary promises as a candidate: “We’re going to get your energy prices down. We’re going to get your energy prices down by 50%.”
FACT: It seems like Trump might have gotten increasing prices mixed up with bringing them down! Electricity prices have increased by 40% since February 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In part, costs have increased so much due to new demand for powering AI data centers, thanks to Trump's push for deregulation for his AI company donors/buddies.
- On Earth Day this year, April 22nd, the White House released an article about how Trump is the leader of environmental protection in the United States. "Under President Donald J. Trump, America is back — leveraging environmental policies rooted in reality to promote economic growth while maintaining the standards that have afforded Americans the cleanest air and water in the world for generations."
FACT: On Monday, Trump led the EPA to abandon the soot standards for air protection that prevent "asthma attacks, heart disease, and early death—especially in vulnerable communities." The Washington Post headline describes it as "EPA to abandon air pollution rule that would prevent thousands of U.S. deaths."
The move vacates strict standards that the Biden presidency strengthened to limit air pollution, particularly from smaller pollutants like soot. Soot is one of the nation's deadliest forms of air pollution. The World Health Organization cites that air pollution is responsible for 6.7 million premature deaths a year.
While Americans everywhere work hard for themselves and each other to provide a warm home with food on the table, Trump is working to line the pockets of his friends, his family, and himself. We are all standing up against it, one step at a time.
The first step in fighting back against the Trump administration is setting the record straight; correcting misinformation is a job for us all. If you had this email forwarded, you can sign up for the #TrumpCheck newsletter here.
Stay safe, stay strong, and keep up the good fight, Democrats.
We'll be back at defending the truth next week. Until then, stay tuned to our social media channels, linked below, for updates on the LACDP's fight against Trump.
In Solidarity,
Team LACDP
P.S. Tickets for the Chair's Holiday Party are on sale now! Buy your tickets today before they sell out!
