With a social-media post that said \u201cSTOP LYIN\u201d about there being an affordability crisis, President Trump claims he\u2019s whipped inflation.<\/p>\n
But consumers are still feeling the squeeze.<\/p>\n
Target\u2019s prices are up 5.5% nationwide this year and Walmart\u2019s are up 5.3%, according to an analysis by DataWeave, which looked at roughly 16,000 items across each retailer\u2019s website. <\/p>\n
Amazon\u2019s price hikes have averaged more than 12%, according to a report.<\/p>\n
After seven months under Trump\u2019s tariffs, Americans are paying more for nearly everything \u2014 from a cup of joe and plush living room sofas to children\u2019s toys.<\/p>\n
President Trump claimed he\u2019s got the affordability crisis under control. Aaron Schwartz\/POOL via CNP\/INSTARimages.com<\/p>\n
Inflation for food has been tamed to 3.1%, according to September\u2019s Consumer Price Index<\/a> \u2014 a far cry from the double-digit increases under President Biden.<\/p>\n But certain groceries, particularly meat<\/a>, are still up for various reasons. Bananas are up 8.6%, mostly because of tariffs, as almost none are produced domestically. Chicken and eggs have fluctuated because of bird flu.<\/p>\n Beef is up across the board \u2014 up more than 19% for steak, and 14% for ground beef. Ranchers blame smaller herds because of drought. They are also helped by tariffs on foreign beef, and Trump says he\u2019s considering consumer relief by boosting Argentinian imports.<\/p>\n \u201cPutting Joe Biden\u2019s inflation crisis firmly behind us has been a Day One priority for President Trump,\u201d White House spokesman Kush Desai told The Post in a Thursday statement.<\/p>\n \u201cAmericans are paying less for essentials like gas and eggs, and today the Administration inked yet another drug pricing deal to deliver unprecedented healthcare savings for everyday Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n Ground beef is up nearly 14% across US cities in September compared to the previous year. HelgaQ \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n He added that \u201cthe best is yet to come\u201d as Trump\u2019s agenda of tax cuts and deregulation continues.<\/p>\n Voters listed the economy as a major issue in this week\u2019s election, and socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani campaigned on giving away free bus rides and other services because the city is too expensive.<\/p>\n In a social media post<\/a>, Vice President JD Vance urged GOPers to \u201cfocus on the home front,\u201d adding that affordability is \u201cthe metric by which we\u2019ll ultimately be judged in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris Sohan, 61, who lives in Queens and shops once a week for himself, his wife and son, doesn\u2019t see any relief.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything is expensive,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe sometimes $50, sometimes $100,\u201d he said he is now paying extra. \u201cI am not buying more. I used to buy beef every week. Now I buy it every two weeks. I eat more chicken.\u201d<\/p>\n Sohan voted for Trump twice, but has been disappointed.<\/p>\n \u201cI expected better from him because of the promises he made.\u00a0 He cares more about his rich friends than he cares about me who voted for him. If I could go back [in time] I wouldn\u2019t vote for him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n For months, businesses have been eating the bulk of Trump\u2019s tariffs, which have hit key trade partners like China and Vietnam and goods like furniture, aluminum, vehicles and auto parts.<\/p>\n Now, companies have started to pass along those costs \u2013 and Goldman Sachs economists have warned that consumers will end up bearing the brunt of the bills<\/a> by the end of this year.<\/p>\n Across Amazon, Target and Walmart, apparel prices rose 11.5% on average between January and the end of September, according to the data earlier reported by CNBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n The big chains\u2019 prices for home goods, pet goods and consumables, health and beauty items, and hardlines \u2013 like electronics, furniture and appliances \u2013 rose 10.8%, 6.1%, 7% and 8.3%, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is more difficult for Amazon to avoid price hikes compared to rivals because it is largely a third-party seller, said Bill Currence, founder of Cornerstone Consulting Organization, which works with clients like Toyota, Volvo and Amazon.<\/p>\n Amazon\u2019s price hikes have averaged more than 12%, according to a bombshell report. REUTERS<\/p>\n But Amazon also \u201cmakes an insane amount of money because of the market share they control,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Most companies are probably following a rule to \u201cnever waste a good crisis\u201d \u2013 and the real question is whether prices will come back down after the dust from the trade war settles, Currence told The Post.<\/p>\n Amazon disputed that its prices were up across the board.<\/p>\n \u201cAcross the selection of any large retailer, you can cherry pick products where prices have increased \u2014 if that\u2019s what you\u2019re looking for,\u201d an Amazon spokesperson told The Post.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality is that we offer competitive, low prices for Amazon customers and . . . we have not seen increases in price outside of normal fluctuations.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Target said the company has held prices steady on certain items, like school supplies. Walmart told CNBC it has permanently lowered prices on 2,000 items since February.<\/p>\n IKEA raised the price of its Uppland sofa to $899, up from $849. mad_production \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n As an example of how tariffs are hitting prices: In October, Trump unveiled steep new tariffs<\/a> on pharmaceutical drugs, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, heavy trucks \u2014 and a 30% rate on furniture.<\/p>\n Later that month, IKEA hiked the price<\/a> of a three-piece oak bedroom set to $1,049, up from $949 in August, according to the Wall Street Journal. It also raised the price of its Uppland sofa to $899, up from $849.<\/p>\n Federal data shows prices for living room, kitchen and dining room furniture \u2014 which is mostly imported from other nations \u2014 jumped 9.5% in September compared to the previous year.<\/p>\n Furniture and bedding rose 4.7% over the same period, while furnishings and supplies increased 2.8%.<\/p>\n Most low-cost furniture sold in the US \u2014 like a cheap chair \u2014 comes from overseas, particularly China.<\/p>\n Even the price of coffee is up a whopping 41% in September from the same time last year, according to the CPI. Farknot Architect \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n But even high-end furniture in the US often contains textiles or other parts imported from abroad, according to Bob King, founder and CEO of Humanscale, which manufactures ergonomic office furniture.<\/p>\n Toys, video games and electronics have also been hit hard, since these goods are largely imported.<\/p>\n In August, Sony blamed Trump\u2019s tariffs as it hiked the price of its Playstation 5<\/a> by $50 to $550. It claimed the tariffs are costing the company $685 million annually.<\/p>\n