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Cost of living and inflation will likely be targeted by Republicans in the run-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential race, keen to attract Americans who have felt the impact of economic instability first-hand.
Former President Donald Trump this month named inflation among the three major problems that President Joe Biden faces going into the election next year.
At a rally this week in Sioux City, Iowa, Trump attempted to find another way to illustrate his point, claiming that bacon, in particular, has been the victim of some of the heftiest price rises.
The Claim
At a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, on Sunday, October 29, 2023, Donald Trump said that the price of bacon had "gone up five times" in the past 15 months.
"I mean our country, seriously, you go back three years, our country is not recognizable now, it's not even recognizable," Trump said.
"You look at what's happened bacon has gone up five times in like a year and a quarter. Five times, I saw that this morning. Bacon, what's going on with bacon? Come on let's get going.
"But it's gone up, bacon. I think I'm not going to order bacon anymore for a little while, but we'll get it back down."
The Facts
Trump's bacon claim is a few rashers short. While the price of bacon, like other popular grocery items, has increased during the Biden presidency, it has not climbed at the rate over the period of time described by Trump.
According to the most recent figures by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average price of sliced bacon, per pound, is down 52 cents since it peaked at $7.60 in October 2022.
The figures, used to calculate U.S. inflation, show that the average price rose from a recent low of $6.22 in June to $7.08 in September.
However, Trump specifies that the price has "gone up" five times in the past "year and a quarter" which, according to the BLS, is not true.
The average cost of a pound of sliced bacon 15 months ago was $7.40, more than 30 cents higher than the last average monthly price recorded.
If bacon was five times more expensive today than it was 15 months ago, it would had to have cost $1.42 to begin with, a price the BLS has not reported since the early 1980s.
Newsweek has reached out to a media representative for Trump via email for comment.
The Ruling
False.
The price of bacon has not gone up five times in the past year and a quarter.
The most recent inflation figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the price of bacon has gone down over a 15-month period. While it has increased in the past few years, like other grocery and consumer items, it has not risen in price anywhere near the manner Trump described.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
About the writer
Tom Norton is Newsweek's Fact Check reporter, based in London. His focus is reporting on misinformation and misleading information in ... Read more