Single mom of 5 confronts Donald Trump on skyrocketing prices in America — here's what the former president says he'd do to tame inflation during his 1st year in office. Would it work?

“My question for you is, I’m a single mom of five, and [it’s] becoming difficult to afford, you know, the basics. So can you please tell me what you’re going to do to lower the prices for us?” she asked.

Trump acknowledged the gravity of issues surrounding inflation.

“People are hurt by the cost of groceries, the cost of everything,” the former president said. “If you go back four or five years, everything was just a fraction of what it is now.”

Prices in America have surged in recent years. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, citing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. consumer price index has risen by 21% since the start of 2020, reflecting a significant increase in the cost of living.

When it comes to his plan for bringing prices down, Trump said the solution begins with energy.

“It’s going to start with energy. We’re going to drill, baby, drill,” he explained.

'Liquid gold'

Trump has called for increased domestic oil and gas production through aggressive drilling, a strategy he believes is key to combating inflation.

“We are going to have energy,” Trump said, adding that the U.S. is rich in “liquid gold,” referring to oil and gas.

Energy prices did play a role in driving the inflation that the U.S. experienced in recent years. Global energy prices, particularly oil and natural gas, surged due to a variety of factors such as increased post-pandemic demand, supply chain disruptions and geopolitical events like Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

But the U.S. has produced more crude oil than any other country in the world over the past six years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, including a record 12.9 million barrels per day in 2023.

Trump made a bold claim about what his energy strategy could accomplish if he wins the presidency.

“We're going to drill, and we're going to take it out, your energy bills will be 50% lower one year from January 20,” he said.

However, experts are doubtful this goal is at all achievable, arguing that significantly increasing production isn’t as simple as the “drill, baby, drill” slogan suggests.

Michael Webber, a professor of energy resources at the University of Texas at Austin, dismissed Trump’s tagline to The Wall Street Journal as “mostly just bluster, because the president actually doesn’t have any direct control.”

The newspaper notes that middling oil prices and historically low natural-gas prices this year have given companies little incentive to ramp up production. Adam Rozencwajg, managing partner at natural-resource investment firm Goehring & Rozencwajg, echoed Webber’s skepticism.

“There is nothing that you could wave your magic wand at from a political perspective and get that kind of an increase in production,” Rozencwajg remarked to The Journal.

Bring down interest rates?

Energy isn’t the only factor Trump plans to tackle in his strategy to combat inflation.

“We're going to bring it down with energy and interest rates,” he said.

Trump emphasized the impact elevated interest rates have had on the U.S. economy and the challenges higher rates pose for Americans.

While Trump has vowed to lower interest rates, his direct control over them is limited. In the U.S., the federal funds rate — which heavily influences the cost of borrowing money — is set by the Federal Reserve, which operates independently from the executive branch. The Fed adjusts rates based on a variety of economic indicators, including inflation and employment data, with the goal of maintaining stable prices and maximizing employment.

A president can influence monetary policy indirectly, such as by nominating Federal Reserve governors who may share similar economic views to head the U.S. central bank. However, direct control of interest rates is not within the president’s immediate powers.