Trump Says Walmart’s Thanksgiving Meal Will Be ‘25% Cheaper’ This Year — but There’s a Catch

President Donald Trump made several assertions about the U.S. economy this week, including repeating his claim that Walmart’s Thanksgiving meal costs have dropped this year and denying that the nation is experiencing inflation during his second term.

Speaking alongside Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday, Nov. 7, Trump reiterated a statement he had previously shared on Truth Social and earlier in the week, saying in the White House Cabinet Room:

“Walmart said that the Thanksgiving [meal] was 25% more expensive, 25% more expensive, under [former President Joe] Biden. That’s a big number.”

Trump echoed this message two days earlier, on Nov. 5, while addressing the American Business Forum.

“Grocery prices are way down, and Walmart just announced that the cost of their standard Thanksgiving meal — this is the greatest, their greatest — is 25% lower than one year ago. That’s a big deal,” he said, according to NBC News.

On Thursday, Nov. 6, he posted on Truth Social:

“2025 Thanksgiving dinner under Trump is 25% lower than 2024 Thanksgiving dinner under Biden, according to Walmart. My cost [sic] are lower than the Democrats on everything, especially oil and gas! So the Democrats ‘affordability’ issue is DEAD! STOP LYING!!!”

Trump’s claims about lower Thanksgiving meal prices are partially accurate — Walmart’s 2025 offering is indeed cheaper but also smaller than last year’s. The company says it provides “a full holiday feast serving 10 people for under $4.00 per person,” calling it “the lowest price since Walmart started the program.”

According to NBC, this year’s meal includes 23 items, down six from 2024. The 2025 basket excludes ingredients such as onions, celery, sweet potatoes, chicken broth, poultry seasoning, muffin mix, marshmallows, whipped topping, and pecan pie. It also contains just one can of cream of mushroom soup instead of two.

Meanwhile, Walmart replaced some higher-priced products from 2024’s menu with lower-cost options like standard dinner rolls and fresh cranberries instead of sweet Hawaiian rolls and canned cranberry sauce.

Trump’s broader claim that grocery prices have fallen sharply under his administration is not supported by official data.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI) — most recently reporting for September 2025 — showed overall food costs rose 3.1% year over year, with grocery prices up 2.7%. Prices have continued to rise steadily since Trump took office in January.

During Friday’s meeting with Orbán, Trump dismissed Democratic arguments about affordability, calling them “a con job.” When a reporter suggested he had avoided the topic earlier, Trump pushed back:

“I talked about it. When did I not want to talk about it? I talk about it all the time. We are much better than Biden and all of them. … The Biden administration had the highest inflation in 48 years, but most people say ever recorded.”

He added:

“They had the worst inflation in 48 years. We have almost no inflation. We’re down now to 2% and we’ll be maybe at 1%.”

However, Trump’s 2% figure is inaccurate. The most recent CPI data placed the 12-month inflation rate at 3%.