Op-Ed
Donald Trump was elected in 2024 in large part because he claimed to understand the impact of high prices on working class families. The rhetoric was clearly persuasive, but the results have been beyond disappointing. Six months into his second term, costs have continued to increase on everything from gas to electricity to food, and the working class families that believed Trump’s promises to bring prices down “on day one” are by far the hardest hit.
The San Joaquin Valley in particular was one of the few areas in the country to flip from supporting Joe Biden in 2020 to Trump in 2024. In many ways, our region mirrors the makeup of the Trump 2024 coalition. We have strong working class and immigrant communities, with an emphasis on hard work in industries like agriculture, construction and manufacturing. We are not without our own challenges, as the Central Valley’s average household income is considerably lower, and its poverty rate significantly higher, than California as a whole.
In short, the majority of our region voted for Trump because his rhetoric on prices mattered deeply to them.
Now, grocery prices continue to rise, and for some reason, Trump wants to make them worse through arbitrary and painful tariffs on critical food imports from American allies. Most pressing, next week a 21 percent tariff will go into effect on Mexican tomatoes, which make up roughly 90 percent of the tomatoes we eat in America.
Whether you plan to enjoy ketchup on a hot dog, homemade salsa, a slice of tomato on your burger or a plate of spaghetti this summer, the cost of the tomatoes in these dishes will rise by as much as 70 percent. That’s after the price of coffee has doubled, and the price of ground beef has shot to an average of $8.50 per pound, a 50 percent increase.
These voluntary tax increases of over $346 million will hit consumers directly, and the working class even harder.
The good news is that California’s 13th Congressional District elected a Democrat, Rep. Adam Gray, to the House of Representatives at the same time they sent Trump to the White House. Democrats are a critical check on Trump’s power to raise the cost of food whenever he feels like it.
In fact, Rep. Gray has introduced the “Stop Raising Prices on Food Act” precisely to protect his constituents from this harm. It’s refreshing to see a political leader take Trump head on, standing up for workers who are struggling more than ever to put food on the table for their families.
Even for those voters who may still support Trump, there is a clear need for a balance of power in Washington. Surrounded by yes men in his own party, the president has chosen to break promise after promise at a time when economic uncertainty is reaching historical heights.
Our grocery bills continue to rise. That’s not only a promise that’s already been broken, it is a problem of the president’s making, and it is only getting worse.