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5h ago

Fact Checks Rebuke Trump’s Claim of a 25% Cheaper Thanksgiving, Citing Non-Comparable Walmart Bundle

Fact-checkers say Walmart's year-to-year bundle changes make the 25% figure an invalid measure of meal costs.

A grocery store meat handler stocks poultry, which is covered by the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), at a grocery store in Baltimore, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
FILE - Shoppers walk from the Walmart store, Aug. 14, 2025, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
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Overview

  • President Donald Trump and the White House pointed to Walmart’s 2025 holiday bundle to claim this year’s meal costs 25% less than in 2024.
  • AP and Lead Stories found the 2025 basket has about 15 items versus 29 in 2024, different products and quantities, and serves 10 instead of 8.
  • Walmart advertises the 2025 bundle at $39.93, under $4 per person, compared with about $56 last year, but says contents vary annually.
  • Economists and industry data show grocery prices are roughly 2.7% higher year over year, with reports of sharply higher turkey prices despite some store promotions.
  • The White House also highlighted deals at Aldi, Target, Lidl and Schnucks, as well as a Wells Fargo estimate of a modest 2%–3% decline for a typical 10-person meal.