Overview

• Forty-seven percent of U.S. adults say groceries are harder to afford than a year ago, compared with 34% who say about the same and 19% who say easier, per the Sept. 11–13 Axios Vibes/Harris Poll of 2,093 adults (±2.4 points).
• Majorities of Democrats (50%) and independents (54%) report worsening affordability, while Republicans are more divided, with 34% saying harder and 28% saying easier.
• The poll frames grocery costs as a political vulnerability, as 8 in 10 say the president has significant influence on the economy and 47% rate the Trump administration’s economic impact positively this year.
• The White House disputes the survey’s implication, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying the administration is fixing inherited inflation and citing steep declines in egg prices, and another official asserting that data contradict the claim.
• Labor Department figures show food prices up 3.2% year over year through August, yet staples have jumped more sharply — ground beef 12.8%, eggs 10.9%, coffee 20.9% — and groceries are up more than 30% over five years; fewer than one-third view Trump’s tariffs as beneficial and 63% worry about shortages tied to import taxes.