Is affordability dead in America? Trump touts 25% cost cuts in holiday season — even as Target, Amazon prices surge

US President Donald Trump, in a recent Truth Social post, said that the affordability issue looming over the United States is now dead, as the head of state noted reducing costs in the economy during the holiday season this year.

In his social media post, Donald Trump cited the hypermarket chain Walmart and said that this year the cost for a Thanksgiving dinner will be 25% lower compared to that in 2024 under the Democratic government.

“2025 Thanksgiving dinner under Trump is 25% lower than 2024 Thanksgiving dinner under Biden, according to Walmart,” said Trump.

America is set to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season in 2025 with the occasion of Thanksgiving on Thursday, 27 November 2025. Thanksgiving will be followed by the mega Black Friday Sale, which people await around the year to purchase goods at a discounted rate.

Trump further attributed his drop in costs to the lower price on ‘everything’ while focusing on oil and gas, compared to the previous federal government.

“My cost are lower than the Democrats on everything, especially oil and gas! So the Democrats ‘affordability’ issue is DEAD! STOP LYING!!!” said US President Donald Trump on Thursday, November 6.

Americans in an Inflation trap?

Mint reported earlier, citing Lightspeed data, that Americans are now looking to buy bare everyday essentials in the upcoming holiday season sale amid the raging inflation concerns in the US economy.

According to the data, 23% of the people in the United States are planning to purchase everyday essential items like groceries, household items, toiletries, etc. While 47% of Americans plan to divide their holiday expenses between essential and premium items.

A New York Post report, citing data collected from DataWeave, said that consumers in the United States are still feeling as if they are being squeezed as the prices of goods in supermarkets like Target have increased 5.5% around the country in 2025.

The news portal's report also highlighted that this rise in prices is not just limited to the Target stores in the US, but stores like Walmart and prices on Amazon have also witnessed a 5.3% and more than 12%, respectively.

September 2025 consumer inflation data for the US economy showed a 3% rise on a 12-month basis amid the US federal government shutdown, compared to a 2.9% rise for the same period ending in August 2025.

However, even though the cost of shelter, airline prices, and the cost of recreational activities, among other things, increased in September 2025, the overall cost rose at a slightly lower pace at 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis, compared to their 0.4% level in August 2025.