{"id":15254,"date":"2024-12-12T18:34:22","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T02:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/?p=15254"},"modified":"2024-12-12T18:46:25","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T02:46:25","slug":"trump-admits-he-cant-lower-grocery-prices-though-the-biden-administration-just-did-bradcast-12122024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/?p=15254","title":{"rendered":"Trump Admits He Can&#8217;t Lower Grocery Prices (Though the Biden Administration Just Did): &#8216;BradCast&#8217; 12\/12\/2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/BradBlog.com\/Images\/BradCast_DickVanDyke-AllMyLove_121224.jpg\" hspace=\"6\" vspace=\"3\" border=\"0\" align=\"right\">Lots of news today on <a href=\"https:\/\/BradBlog.com\/BradCast\"><i>BradCast<\/i><\/a>, though not all of it terrible. It also features not one, but <i>two<\/i> song and dance men, though only one of them is not a horrible person. Either way, we promise to leave you singing on your way out of the theater. [<i>Audio link to full show follows this summary.<\/i>]\n<p>Among today&#8217;s stories of note&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In the largest single-day act of clemency in modern U.S. history, <b>President Joe Biden<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2024\/12\/12\/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-clemency-for-nearly-1500-americans\/\">commuted<\/a> the sentences of some 1,500 people today who were released from prison to home confinement during the COVID pandemic. As discussed, he also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2024\/12\/12\/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-providing-clemency-for-nearly-1500-individuals-on-home-confinement-and-pardons-for-39-individuals-convicted-of-non-violent-crimes\/\">promised<\/a> &#8220;more steps in the weeks ahead.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The <b>Dept. of Justice<\/b>&#8216;s Inspector General released a long-awaited <a href=\"https:\/\/oig.justice.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/reports\/25-011_0.pdf\">report [PDF]<\/a> today on the <b>FBI<\/b>&#8216;s preparation for what became <b>Donald Trump<\/b>&#8216;s January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Despite years of false claims by MAGA Republicans, including members of Congress, that undercover FBI employees somehow instigated the attack, the I.G. report <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/12\/12\/politics\/justice-inspector-general-january-6-fbi-report?cid=ios_app\">finds<\/a>, among other things, that none were present at the Capitol that day.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Inflation and, specifically, high prices at the grocery store have been cited by many as the reason for <b>Donald Trump<\/b>&#8216;s apparent election victory last month. In fact, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/rachel-maddow-show\/maddowblog\/comes-grocery-prices-trump-suddenly-changes-tune-rcna183958\">ran on promises<\/a> of lowering prices at the grocery store &#8220;very quickly&#8221; throughout the campaign. In September, for example, he declared: &#8220;Vote Trump and grocery prices will come tumbling down&#8221;. In October, he <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/atrupar.com\/post\/3ld4na3m7rc2f\">promised<\/a> to &#8220;bring your grocery bill way down.&#8221; And, in an interview that aired on NBC this past Sunday, he attributed his victory, in part, &#8220;on groceries&#8221; and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Acyn\/status\/1865810004735099282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1865810004735099282%7Ctwgr%5E8715e72533f9f6fd0fb8e405edb01c3938e5ac9c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&#038;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.comicsands.com%2Ftrump-word-groceries-election\">said again<\/a> that &#8220;we&#8217;re going to bring those prices way down.&#8221;  Rarely did anyone in the media throughout the campaign press him on <i>how<\/i> he would lower the cost of groceries. So it seems voters were misinformed enough to believe him and vote for him. And yet, in an interview with <i>Time<\/i> before Thanksgiving just published today, Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/meidastouch.com\/post\/3ld4nzvng3224\">admits<\/a> he has no actual plan to lower prices at the grocery store. &#8220;It&#8217;s hard to bring things down once they&#8217;re up,&#8221; he told the magazine. &#8220;You know, it&#8217;s very hard.&#8221;  We&#8217;ll see how long it takes, if it ever does, for MAGA buyers remorse to set in.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>But you know who <i>did<\/i> help keep your grocery prices low? The Biden Administration&#8217;s <b>Federal Trade Commission<\/b>. Biden&#8217;s progressive Chair of the FTC, <b>Lina Kahn<\/b>, led a lawsuit against the proposed 2022 merger of grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, arguing the $20 billion deal would raise prices for consumers and lower pay for the company&#8217;s 700,000 union workers. This week, a federal judge agreed with the FTC and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/12\/10\/business\/kroger-albertsons-merger-ruling?Date=20241210&#038;Profile=cnnbrk&#038;utm_content=1733863447&#038;utm_medium=social&#038;utm_source=twitter\">blocked the merger<\/a>, at least for now. In the meantime, Trump&#8217;s nominee to Chair the FTC, <b>Andrew Ferguson<\/b> (a former clerk for corrupt Justice Clarence Thomas), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/10\/technology\/trump-ftc-andrew-ferguson.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hE4._gBp.IUAlPe2uYbkc&#038;smid=url-share\">vows to abandon<\/a> Khan&#8217;s tough standards for mergers between powerful American companies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>North Carolina<\/b> Republicans took a beating in statewide races in November, losing the contests for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Sec. of State and Superintendent of Public Instruction. They also lost their gerrymandered supermajority in the state legislature. So, while they still have the power to do so in their lame-duck session, Republican lawmakers, passed a massive bill under the guise of disaster relief for <b>Hurricane Helene<\/b> (which simply shifted already existing funding from one account to another) and used the next several hundred pages of the bill to strip many of the key powers from all of the incoming Democratic statewide officials. The outgoing Democratic Governor vetoed the obvious power grab. But, last week, the GOP-controlled Senate used their supermajority to override the veto and, despite an outpouring of protest from voters at the state capital, the GOP-controlled House <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/12\/11\/politics\/north-carolina-legislature-overrides-veto\/index.html\">did the same last night<\/a>. Nonetheless, I suspect this fight ain&#8217;t over. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Finally, Desi Doyen joins us for <a href=\"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/?p=15253\">our latest <i>Green News Report<\/i><\/a> on, among other things, the wildfire in <b>Malibu, California<\/b> that led to the emergency evacuation of thousands of residents, including film and TV legend <b>Dick Van Dyke<\/b>, who turns 99 on Friday. Also, on the effort by  environmentalists to add Endangered Species Act protections to the quickly disappearing <b>Monarch Butterfly<\/b>. As Des mentions at the end of today&#8217;s show, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fws.gov\/press-release\/2024-12\/monarch-butterfly-proposed-endangered-species-act-protection\">leave a public comment here<\/a> in favor of the Fish and Wildlife Department&#8217;s effort to protect the butterflies.\n<p>And, as she also discussed, that <i>fantastic<\/i> and charming and so, so sweet music video and interview with Van Dyke by Coldplay&#8217;s <b>Chris Martin<\/b>, released just last week before the fire &#8212; filmed at Van Dyke&#8217;s Malibu home which, thankfully (as you&#8217;ll be especially happy to hear after watching the video!), <i>didn&#8217;t<\/i> burn down this week, can be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=o4OlL0OpbW8\">seen right here<\/a>. Never mind today&#8217;s <i>BradCast<\/i> for the moment. Go watch that video. We&#8217;ll be here when you get back. You&#8217;ll thank us!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\".\/Images\/Speaker_Icon_24.png\" style=\"width: 24px; float: none; vertical-align: middle;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18px; line-height: 18px;\"> <b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/BradBlog.com\/audio\/BradCast_BradFriedman-BidenCommutations-FBIJan6IG-TrumpGroceryPrices-GOPPowerGrabNC-DickVanDykeMalibu_121224.mp3\">CLICK TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD SHOW!&#8230;<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><center><b>* * *<\/b><\/center><i>While we post <a href=\"https:\/\/BradBlog.com\/BradCast\"><\/i>The BradCast<i><\/a> here every day, and you can hear it across all of our great affiliate stations and websites, to automagically get new episodes as soon as they&#8217;re available sent right to your computer or personal device, subscribe for free at <a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-bradcast-w-brad-friedman\/id803467610\">iTunes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pandora.com\/podcast\/the-bradcast-w-brad-friedman\/PC:1000025838\">Pandora<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/tunein.com\/radio\/The-BradCast-with-Brad-Friedman-p477565\/\">TuneIn<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly9icmFkYmxvZy5jb20vcG9kY2FzdGdlbi9icmFkY2FzdC9mZWVkLnhtbA\">Google<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/The-BradCast-w-Brad-Friedman\/dp\/B08JJRN86R\/ref=sr_1_1\">Amazon<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/podcastgen\/bradcast\/feed.xml\">our native RSS feed<\/a>!<\/i><\/p>\n<p><!--BB-DONATEPITCH-START--><\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#f5f0e0; border:2px solid #6b5a2e; border-radius:6px; padding:10px 14px; text-align:center; font-family:Georgia,serif;\"><span style=\"display:block; margin:0 0 8px 0; color:#3a2e0e; font-size:0.95em; line-height:1.5;\"><strong>The BRAD BLOG<\/strong>, <em>The BradCast<\/em> and <em>Green News Report<\/em> are all 100% independent and 100% listener and reader supported!<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/Donate\" style=\"display:inline-block; background:#6b5a2e; color:#ffffff; padding:6px 18px; border-radius:4px; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:none; font-family:Georgia,serif; font-size:0.9em;\">Please CLICK HERE to help support our work today!<\/a><\/div>\n<p><!--BB-DONATEPITCH-END--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lots of news today on BradCast, though not all of it terrible. It also features not one, but two song and dance men, though only one of them is not a horrible person. Either way, we promise to leave you singing on your way out of the theater. [Audio link to full show follows this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[836,89,675,21,543,299,479,390,969,1611,200,548,227,1520,1590,320,477,1841,337,43,300],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-15254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arctic","category-media-appearance","category-bradcast","category-california","category-climate-change","category-democrats","category-donald-trump","category-economy","category-election-2020","category-election-2024","category-environment","category-extreme-weather","category-fbi","category-ftc","category-insurrection","category-joe-biden","category-kpfk","category-lina-khan","category-los-angeles","category-north-carolina","category-republicans","bb-type-bradcast"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15254\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15254"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bradblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=15254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}