The aroma of roasting turkey — that singular, comforting scent of an American holiday — is meant to symbolise abundance and gratitude. This year, however, for many families, that cherished tradition has been overshadowed by the sharp, unwelcome tang of inflation.
The Thanksgiving dinner table, long a source of unity, has been pulled into the political crossfire, with the escalating cost of the centrepiece meal becoming the latest stick for rivals to beat President Donald Trump. California Governor Gavin Newsom, a high-profile Democratic critic, has cast aside seasonal pleasantries to aggressively remind Americans who, in his view, is responsible for the shrinking holiday budget: President Donald Trump.
Newsom's press office, known for adopting the President's own combative, all-caps social media style to mock his rhetoric, seized on the issue of high prices, particularly the soaring turkey prices, to score a political point. The move transforms the classic American feast from a non-partisan gathering into a fresh battleground in the ongoing 'culture war', ensuring the price of the bird itself is now as hotly debated as the menu.
The Price Tag of Gratitude: Soaring Turkey Prices and the Economic Debate
The political theatre kicked off when Newsom's team shared a screenshot of The Drudge Report's homepage, highlighting the worrying financial forecast for the holiday. The image was captioned with a stark, all-caps message aimed directly at the White House: 'WELCOME TO TRUMP'S GOLDEN ERA!' The report itself painted a grim picture: 'A tariff thanksgiving,' it read. 'Turkey price up 24%, grim retail sales, consumer confidence spirals.'
In a subsequent, and decidedly more viral, post, Newsom's team took their mockery a step further by photoshopping the Commander-in-Chief's head onto a turkey's body. The face used for the edit was from his Time magazine cover, an image the President himself once famously described as 'super bad' and 'the worst of all time'. The accompanying caption delivered the final political jab: 'Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, except the turkey who incited the storming of the dinner table.'
These viral posts exposed a real and rising economic pinch felt by families across the country. The Drudge Report's headline was based on an analysis from The Times of London, which showed that the average Thanksgiving meal cost was expected to increase from $98.37 to $107 this year, meaning families were likely to spend 9% more than they did last year.
However, according to an analysis by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), the overall cost of a classic Thanksgiving dinner for ten people has seen a more modest drop, falling by 5% since last year. This discrepancy suggests a complex picture: While some staple items may be cheaper due to market promotions, the cost of the entire basket, depending on the retailer and regional location, still feels significantly higher to many shoppers than in years past.
The true star of the show, the turkey, is where the most dramatic price fluctuations are occurring. The Times' analysis revealed a sharp increase in wholesale prices, with a 12lb turkey costing wholesalers around $19, an increase of almost 70% from the previous autumn. This translated to grocery stores charging roughly $25 for the bird, a 25% increase year-on-year for the consumer. However, the AFBF's data shows the retail price for an average 16-pound turkey has dropped to $21.50, which is more than 16% less than the average price last year.
This retail price relief is often attributed to large supermarkets deliberately pricing turkeys as 'loss leaders' — selling them cheaply to entice customers into the store to purchase higher-margin side dishes, a common and interesting tactic during the festive period.
White House Victory Lap Amid Soaring Turkey Prices
Despite the ongoing conversation about inflation and soaring turkey prices, the White House has been steadfast in declaring victory on its mission to lower consumer costs. President Trump himself was quoted earlier this month stating unequivocally, 'Grocery prices are way down', before adding, 'This is the greatest, their greatest.'
The administration reinforced this message in a press release, citing specific holiday deals, such as the Walmart Thanksgiving package that offered a holiday meal for ten people at only $4 a person, as 'proof that under President Trump's leadership, America is winning the war on high prices.'
While this particular deal has been praised by the President, a closer inspection reveals a slight shift in the offering. The Walmart Thanksgiving package for this year contained a smaller number of items compared to its 2024 version, with some ingredients, such as fried onions, noticeably disappearing from the list. This nuance shows the recurring issue that even when the headline price drops, the contents or quality of the food basket can change, leading many shoppers to still feel the pinch of rising grocery costs overall.
The political clash over Thanksgiving is therefore about more than just a single meal; it is a highly visible microcosm of the larger, national debate over tariffs, inflation and the cost of living for average Americans.
