In a Friday post on Truth Social, the president said he asked the Justice Department to investigate the meatpacking industry, which he accused of “driving up the price of Beef through Illicit Collusion, Price Fixing, and Price Manipulation.”
Beef prices are up nearly 15 percent over the past year, squeezing household budgets as inflation remains stubbornly high. The annual inflation rate hit 3 percent in September, one full percentage point above the Federal Reserve’s annual target.
“Action must be taken immediately to protect Consumers, combat Illegal Monopolies, and ensure these Corporations are not criminally profiting at the expense of the American People,” Trump said Friday.
A year after ousting the Biden administration thanks in part to inflation frustrations, Trump and Republicans are facing a similar problem — and turning to similar solutions.
Democrats notched blowout victories in the New Jersey and Virginia governors races Tuesday, flipping state legislative seats in red districts and recapturing areas that shifted rightward along the way.
Strategists in both parties attributed the Democratic victories to growing concerns about the rising cost of living and unique ways that successful Democratic candidates addressed them.
Trump earlier Friday dismissed the Democratic focus on affordability as a “con,” and snapped at a reporter who pressed him on his claims about food prices.
But in announcing an antitrust investigation into the meat industry, Trump is taking a page out of the Democratic playbook.
Biden and Democrats took aim at the power of major meat companies following shortages, price spikes and labor violations seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
As inflation raged throughout 2022, the Biden administration stepped up its efforts to blame big companies for unnecessarily driving up prices, including through antitrust efforts.
