Vice President J.D. Vance outlined how President Donald Trump is executing his economic plan Sunday on CBS after host Margaret Brennan repeatedly questioned when voters will feel inflation ease.
During his campaign, Trump vowed to address voters’ concerns about the cost of living, as many Americans were worried about the U.S. economy and rising grocery prices before the 2024 November election. On CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Brennan asked Vance which executive order signed by Trump in his first week of office addresses the issue of lowering prices.
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“We have done a lot and there have been a number of executive orders that have caused already jobs to start coming back into our country, which is a core part of lowering prices,” Vance responded. “More capital investment, more job creation in our economy is one of the things that’s going to drive down prices for all consumers, but also raise wages so that people can afford to buy the things that they need.”
“Prices are going to come down, but it’s going to take a little bit of time, right? The president has been president for all of five days. I think that in those five days, he’s accomplished more than Joe Biden did in four years. It’s been an incredible breakneck pace of activity,” Vance said.
In December, the Federal Reserve announced it would lower its federal funds target range from 4.25% to 4.50% to ease inflation, which remains above the Fed’s 2% target. Despite claims from former President Joe Biden and his White House that the U.S. economy fared well under his administration, inflation hit a peak of 9.1% in June 2022, impacting businesses and consumers.
Vance continued, noting that the Trump administration will work with Congress, stating there will be “more executive orders” to address the issue before discussing how energy will affect inflation.
“The way that your lower prices is that you encourage more capital investment into our country. Yes, specifically, what executive order is going to help lower prices? All of the stuff that we’ve done on energy to explore more energy reserves, to develop more energy resources in the United States of America,” Vance said.
“One of the main drivers of increased prices under the Biden administration is that we had a massive increase in energy prices. Donald Trump has already taken multiple executive actions that are going to lower energy prices. I do believe that means consumers are going to see lower prices at the pump and at the grocery store. But it’s going to take a little bit of time,” Vance added. “Rome wasn’t built in a day. While we’ve done a whole lot, we can’t undo all of the damage of Joe Biden’s presidency in four days.”
However, Brennan attempted to push back on the vice president stating “there are a lot of things that contributed to higher energy prices,” to which Vance quickly agreed that Biden did “many, many terrible things to lead to an increase in prices.” Brennan then questioned again when Americans will “get to touch and feel a difference in their lives.”
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“Margaret, how does bacon get to the grocery store? It comes on trucks that are fueled by diesel fuel. If the diesel is way too expensive, the bacon is going to become more expensive. How do we grow the bacon?” Vance asked. “Our farmers need energy to produce it. So if we lower energy prices, we are going to see lower prices for consumers. That is what we’re trying to fight for.”
Immediately after the inauguration on Jan. 20, the president signed a handful of executive orders, including the “Unleashing of American Energy.” According to the order, the goal of the plan is to “unleash America’s affordable and reliable energy and natural resources,” which will “restore American prosperity — including for those men and women who have been forgotten by our economy in recent years.”
Trump also declared a national energy emergency on Jan. 20, stating that the U.S. “has the potential to use its unrealized energy resources domestically, and to sell to international allies and partners a reliable, diversified, and affordable supply of energy,” which could create jobs and “economic prosperity.”
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