Article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
“Making fun of the decor at Cheesecake Factory was elitist. Bragging that the crowd wouldn’t be able to afford the food at his private club is, what exactly?”
US President Donald Trump, whose policies have significantly driven up food costs during his second term, said at a Texas campaign rally on Tuesday that voters likely wouldn’t even be able to afford “a hamburger and a small dessert” at his private Mar-a-Lago resort, remarks that came amid a worsening national hunger crisis fueled by Republican cuts to federal nutrition aid.
Trump made the comment in the context of his farcical pledge to send every American adult a $5,000 check if Republicans retain control of the US Congress in next month’s midterm elections. “The problem,” Trump said, “is that for $5,000 the most you’ll be able to buy is a hamburger and maybe a small dessert. I’m not even sure you could buy that.”
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“No, don’t go there,” the billionaire president said of Mar-a-Lago, where he frequently hosts rich allies and donors. “That’s not a good place if you’re price-conscious.”
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“Working people are struggling to make rent and pay for groceries, and President Trump wants to sell you a $5,000 hamburger at his private golf club. (Fries and a drink extra.),” the AFL-CIO wrote in response to the president’s remarks, which drew laughter from the audience gathered in Corpus Christi.
Progressive activist Jordan Uhl noted that Trump’s comments came just days after former President Barack Obama sparked right-wing furor by mocking Trump’s gaudy White House renovations.
“Making fun of the decor at Cheesecake Factory was elitist,” Uhl wrote on social media. “Bragging that the crowd wouldn’t be able to afford the food at his private club is, what exactly?”
Trump’s remarks came amid what one analyst described as a “hunger disaster unrolling before our eyes” as millions of Americans—including many children—lose federal nutrition assistance due to the Republican budget package that the president signed into law last year.
“About 2 million kids have lost SNAP since deep cuts were enacted last year,” Katie Bergh, an expert at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, observed last week. “The ripple effects: Kids losing SNAP also lose automatic enrollment for free meals at school.”
According to a recent analysis by Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) office, grocery prices have risen 2.6% since Trump signed the Republican budget legislation, and “costs of several everyday staples are rising at a faster annual pace than wages (up 3% in September 2026), including apples (7.5%), coffee (7.1%), fish (6.9%), tomatoes (6.8%), ground beef (5.4%), rice (4.3%), peanut butter (3.8%), and bread (3.3%).”
“President Trump’s policies are a key driver of these price increases,” the senator’s analysis observed. “His chaotic and unlawful tariffs have raised the cost of food… And President Trump’s reckless and illegal war with Iran is pushing those costs higher still, as rising transportation and fertilizer costs put additional pressure on food prices and supply.”
Article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
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