President Donald Trump has declared that the Democrats’ focus on affordability is a “dead” issue, claiming that’s because Thanksgiving dinner costs this year are 25% lower compared to last year.
“2025 Thanksgiving dinner under Trump is 25% lower than 2024 Thanksgiving dinner under Biden, according to Walmart,” he wrote on Truth Social Thursday morning. “My [costs] are lower than the Democrats on everything, especially oil and gas! So the Democrats ‘affordability’ issue is DEAD! STOP LYING!!!”
However, James Blair, the political director for the president’s 2024 campaign, suggested this week that Trump will “very very focused” on affordability and the cost of living, in an interview with Politico. His comments appear to run contrary to Trump’s sentiment.
“The president is very keyed into what’s going on, and he recognizes, like anybody, that it takes time to do an economic turnaround, but all the fundamentals are there, and I think you’ll see him be very, very focused on prices and cost of living,” Blair said.
“Why did Zohran Mamdani do so well last night? He relentlessly focused on affordability,” he said. “People talk about communists, they can say all these things, but the fact is he was talking about the cost of living.”
Blair also blamed the lack of a focus on affordability for Republican Jack Ciattarelli’s loss in the New Jersey gubernatorial election against Gov.-elect Mickie Sherrill.
Walmart announced last month that its annual Thanksgiving meal costs $40 for a 10-person family. Last year, the retail giant’s Thanksgiving meal kit cost $56 for eight people.
However, social media sleuths were quick to point out that this year’s meal plan included 15 food items — six items short of last year’s plan — and that most of the brand items from last year were replaced with cheaper Great Value items.
For instance, a handmade pie was featured in Walmart’s list last year. This year, a package of Great Value pie crusts is among the 15 items featured.
Walmart touted the $0.97-per-pound cost of its Butterball turkey; this was the brand-name turkey’s lowest price since 2019. However, in 2024, Walmart said a whole frozen turkey that didn’t belong to any specific brand and weighed between 10-16 pounds amounted to $0.88 per pound.
Trump touted the 25% figure without providing key context in a previous Truth Social post on Wednesday evening, arguing that the affordability issue is a “Republican stronghold” and that his party can use this as political ammo in future elections.
Trump’s comments follow this week’s election results, which saw Democrats win numerous high-stakes races, in part, due to their focus on affordability concerns for residents.
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This was the case for voters in Virginia and New Jersey. According to the Associated Press Voter Poll recapping the 2025 elections, the economy was picked as the top issue by 49% of Virginia voters and chosen as the second-most pressing issue by 32% of New Jersey voters.
Democratic gubernatorial nominees Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill went on to defeat their Republican opponents on Tuesday, each by a sizable margin in their respective races. Spanberger secured the victory in Virginia by 15 points, and Sherrill won in New Jersey by 13 points.