Trump Says Inflation Isn't His No. 1 Issue. So What Will Happen To Consumer Prices?

Two months ago, in his first network television interview after the election, Donald Trump said he owed his victory to Americans' anger over immigration and inflation, specifically the rising cost of groceries.

"When you buy apples, when you buy bacon, when you buy eggs, they would double and triple the price over a short period of time," he told NBC's "Meet the Press. "And I won an election based on that. We're going to bring those prices way down."

But in Trump's first week back in the White House, there was little in his initial blitz of executive orders that directly tackled those prices, besides directing federal agencies to start "pursuing appropriate actions." He is taking steps to lower energy costs, something that Trump hopes will have ripple effects throughout the economy. Otherwise, his focus has been clamping down on immigration, which he described as his "No. 1 issue" shortly after taking the oath of office.

"They all said inflation was the No. 1 issue. I said, 'I disagree,'" Trump said. "I talked about inflation too, but how many times can you say that an apple has doubled in cost?"

Trump is banking on voters giving him a pass and continuing to blame former President Joe Biden for high prices. The Republican's comments reflect the reality that presidents have almost no levers to reduce inflation quickly without causing collateral damage to other parts of the economy.