President Donald Trump lashed out at a reporter during a back-and-forth in the Oval Office Thursday, denying that prices are rising and instead insisting the cost of everyday essentials like gas, groceries and eggs is going down.
“They’ve already seen it get much better,” Trump said, pushing back on the idea that Americans are still feeling the pain of higher prices.
“You have gasoline that hit $1.98 yesterday in a couple of states. Gasoline’s way down. The price of oil has dropped substantially. The price of groceries are substantially down.”
Trump: Egg Prices Are ‘All Over the Place’ Now
Trump took particular aim at the cost of eggs, claiming his administration turned the situation around after a spike early in his term.
“When I came in, they hit me with eggs. I just got there, I was here for one week, and they started screaming at me, ‘Eggs have gone through the roof,'” he said.
“And they were screaming at me, the press, the fake news like you, you’re fake. I said, ‘I’ve only been here just..this is my seventh day.’ They were right. They went up 87%, and you couldn’t get them.”
Trump added, “And now eggs are all over the place. And the price went down 92%.”
He then turned on the reporter, saying, “If you were truthful, which you’re not, you know I know you very well…”
Fact-Checkers Dispute Trump’s Claims
However, not all of Trump’s claims line up with the facts.
CNN reported that Trump’s comment about gas prices hitting $1.98 in some states was false.
According to AAA, the lowest statewide average on Wednesday was $2.70, seen in Mississippi and Tennessee. The national average was around $3.17 per gallon.
GasBuddy, which tracks prices at tens of thousands of stations, found no stations selling under $2.
When CNN asked the White House for clarification, a spokesperson responded by claiming reporters are out of touch with “Middle America, where gas prices are at record lows.”
But that wasn’t true either.
GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan said, “Gas prices aren’t near record lows in a single state. Current prices are far above record lows.”
As for grocery prices, CNN noted that Trump made a similar claim earlier in the day online, which was also debunked.
Economic Defense Amid Tariff Scrutiny
Trump’s sharp tone and questionable numbers came as he defended his economic policies, particularly tariffs that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned could result in higher prices and slower growth.
Despite the pushback, Trump insisted things are improving, ending his egg comments with, “We did an unbelievable job.”
He also added, “Happy Easter everybody.”
IMAGE CREDIT: “Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Image adjusted for layout.