Economic woes: Can Trump fix inflation?

Some voters are pointing to the economy as the reason Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 presidential election, citing high costs at the grocery store and at the pump, but will President Donald Trump’s policies rectify the high prices Americans are seeing?

Kaushik Basu, professor of economics at Cornell University, says inflation is beyond the control of the party in power and is shaped by other actors.   


Basu says: “Trump supporters are pointing to the economy as the reason Trump won. They are right, though it is not the overall economy, but inflation. We know from history that inflation can damage the party in power. This is for two reasons: one right, one wrong. Unlike other economic variables, people do not need official statistics to see inflation. They know each time they step into a grocery store or gas station. Second, people associate inflation with the party in power, not realizing that it is often beyond anyone’s control, such as when it is triggered by war and supply chain disruption, as happened recently.

“In terms of other parameters, Trump’s performance was worse than Biden’s. Also, Trump’s future plan, such as concerning tariffs, will hurt America. With Trump’s victory, what we can hope for, is that he will not do for the economy what he has said he will.”

For interviews contact Damien Sharp, cell (540) 222-8208; drs395@cornell.edu.