White House Defends Trump’s 15% Walmart Beef Price Claim as Retailer Says Cuts Began June 29
Updated
Updated · The Daily Beast · Jul 10
White House Defends Trump’s 15% Walmart Beef Price Claim as Retailer Says Cuts Began June 29
3 articles · Updated · The Daily Beast · Jul 10
Summary
Walmart told The Bulwark its discounts, including a 15% beef price cut, had already been in stores for a week before Trump claimed on July 6 that the retailer acted at his administration’s request.
Kush Desai, the White House senior deputy press secretary, argued on X that Walmart’s announcement was really an extension of the sale through summer and said the administration stays in close contact with retailers to pass savings to consumers.
Walmart’s own statement highlighted routine summer Rollbacks and Sam’s Club offers, mentioning lower prices on beef and other items but not Trump or the White House.
The Wall Street Journal reported a USDA official had urged major grocers to cut beef prices, but Walmart said on that call the reductions had been planned for months and were already in place since June 29.
The episode lands as Trump’s second term faces persistent food inflation, even after Walmart executives said in May they wanted to use expected tariff-refund gains to invest more aggressively in prices.