Trump labels NBC reporter ‘fake news’ for questioning his cheaper Thanksgiving dinner claim

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump lashed out at an NBC reporter after she questioned his claim that Thanksgiving dinner costs are now cheaper and affordable. The exchange took place at the Oval Office during the POTUS' meeting with Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban on Friday, November 7.

Trump interrupted the reporter to ask which publication she worked for. After learning it was NBC, he said, "Fake news," and added that NBC has "gone down." The question followed a post Trump shared on Truth Social, "Thanksgiving Dinner is now down 25% since under Sleepy/Crooked Joe Biden."

Trump doubles down on claim about Walmart Thanksgiving dinner cost 

“Mr President, since you brought up the Walmart Thanksgiving meal, and it is cheaper, but it also contains less,” reporter Julie Tsirkin began. Trump interrupted her mid-question and asked, “I haven’t heard that. Who are you with?” When she said she was with NBC News, he replied, “Fake news! You’re fake news… NBC has gone down the tubes, along with most of the rest of them.”

The reporter continued, asking, “Sir, if I may ask, why do you think there is such a disconnect between the economy that you’re describing day-to-day, and the way that many Americans say they’re feeling and are concerned about?”

He responded, “It was 25% Walmart just announced it two days ago, 25% cheaper this year, will be cheaper to have Thanksgiving than it was a year ago under sleepy Joe Biden."

"The Democrats are good at a few things, cheating on elections and conning people with facts that aren’t true. Well, they feel better about our country, other than the shutdown obviously, which is caused by the Democrats," Trump added.

He went on, "Could be ended by the Democrats in two minutes. They feel much better. We have more jobs. We just set a record on jobs. You do know that. We have more investment in our country than any country in history." 

"We are over $18 trillion as of this moment, and we are going to be maybe at 20 or 21 trillion by the time I finished up my first year, and there’s been no country — China, no country in the world that’s done even close to that number," Trump concluded.

Trump faces scutiny over cheaper Walmart Thanksgiving dinner price claim

On Thursday, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, "Walmart just announced that Prices for a Thanksgiving Dinner is now down 25% since under Sleepy/Crooked Joe Biden, in 2024. AFFORDABILITY is a Republican Stronghold. Hopefully, Republicans will use this irrefutable fact!"

The president repeated the claim on Friday while meeting Hungary’s prime minister at the White House. 

However, Trump's claim about the cheaper offering is now facing closer scrutiny. According to The Daily Beast, Walmart’s 2025 Thanksgiving package costs $39.33 and includes 22 items. The 2024 version cost $56 but came with 29 items. 

In other words, seven items are missing this year. Some of the returning products have also been reduced in size, such as fried onions shrinking from 6 oz to 4.5 oz.