The Great Thanksgiving Gaslight: Trump’s Walmart “Miracle” Meets a 2.7% Reality Check
In the high-stakes theater of American politics, few narratives are as potent as the “kitchen table” issue. It’s a space where slogans die and receipts don’t lie. As millions of Americans sat down for Thanksgiving 2025, they were treated to a bizarre spectacle: a President claiming a holiday miracle of “affordability,” a retail giant performing corporate gymnastics with its price tags, and an electorate that is increasingly refusing to swallow the spin.
The eruption began when President Trump touted a Walmart report claiming this year’s traditional Thanksgiving meal would cost 25% less than it did under the Biden administration. It was a headline-grabbing figure, a political “slam dunk” designed to vindicate his economic policies. But as the holiday dust settled, the “miracle” began to look more like a mirage, dismantled by community notes, disgruntled lifelong Republicans, and the undeniable math of the grocery aisle.
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The Math of a “Miracle”: Shrinkflation in a Basket
The centerpiece of Trump’s claim was a specific Walmart promotional “bundle.” At first glance, the $40 price tag appeared to be a triumph of affordability. However, the reality hidden beneath the cellophane was far more telling.
As investigations by major outlets like ABC News and PolitiFact revealed, the 2025 bundle wasn’t just cheaper; it was fundamentally different. In 2024, Walmart’s Thanksgiving promotion included roughly 29 items. The 2025 version was slashed to just 15 items. Core staples—including Marie Callender’s Southern Pecan Pie, mini marshmallows, sweet potatoes, and fresh celery—were cut from the list entirely.
Families weren’t seeing a reduction in the price of food; they were seeing a reduction in the amount of food. When analysts compared the items that appeared in both years’ baskets, they found that the cost had actually increased by 8.56%. This wasn’t a policy victory; it was corporate “shrinkflation” repackaged as a political talking point.
The Reality of the Receipt
Beyond the curated Walmart bundle, the broader economic picture for December 2025 tells a different story. According to the most recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures, grocery prices in September were 2.7% higher than the previous year and 1.4% higher than in January when the President took office.
The “affordability crisis” that Trump promised to solve remains a visceral reality for voters like Regina Foley. A retired lifelong Republican from Greensboro, North Carolina, who voted for Trump three times, Regina’s frustration is emblematic of a growing crack in the MAGA base.
“I want the Republicans to keep control of Congress in 2026, but something has to be done fast,” Regina told reporters. “I don’t see the best economy right now.” Her sentiment—that the “beautiful word” affordability hasn’t translated into her bank account—is a warning bell for a party that just suffered a massive repudiation in the November 2025 elections.
The Ghost Supercenters: SNAP Delays and Empty Aisles
The most eerie aspect of the 2025 holiday season wasn’t the price of turkeys, but the silence in the stores. Following the longest government shutdown in U.S. history—which lasted from October 1 to November 12, 2025—millions of Americans experienced devastating delays in their SNAP benefits (food stamps).
For those visiting Walmarts and other grocers in late November, the scene was described as “eerie.” The aisles, typically crowded with families stocking up for the holidays, were half-empty. The smug celebration of some shoppers, who delighted in the lack of lines, ignored a grim economic reality: no customers is bad for business.
If nearly 42 million Americans are “choked out” by government delays and cannot buy food, that food rots on the shelves. The “smugness” of the MAGA crowd—celebrating that those on food stamps can’t “clog up the aisles”—is a self-inflicted wound. When major grocers lose billions in sales from the working poor, the entire economic structure begins to wobble.
The Verdict of the 2025 Polls
The “rollback” of Trump’s Walmart lie coincided with a historic political blow. The November 4, 2025 elections saw a clear repudiation of the administration’s policies. From the retention of Democratic Supreme Court Justices in Pennsylvania to climate bond victories in California, the “much-touted consolidated Trump electorate” appeared to disintegrate.
Trump’s reaction to this repudiation has been typical: explosive rage and a refusal to acknowledge the numbers. He continues to brag about “affordability” like a man who has never checked a price tag, even as his base begins to notice the con.
The “Thanksgiving Miracle” wasn’t lower prices—it was the realization that you can’t gaslight an empty stomach. As we look toward 2026, the receipts are coming due. Families don’t want “beautiful words” about beef prices; they want the actual beef. And as the spin machines break down, the American people are finally saying: enough.
