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

Trump declared ‘NBC has gone down the tubes’ after a reporter brought up his claim that the cost of Walmart’s Thanksgiving dinner had dropped by 25%
UPDATED NOV 8, 2025
Donald Trump clashed with a reporter during a bilateral lunch with Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban in the Cabinet Room of the White House on November 7, 2025, in Washington, DC (Getty Images)
Donald Trump clashed with a reporter during a bilateral lunch with Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban in the Cabinet Room of the White House on November 7, 2025, in Washington, DC (Getty Images)


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."

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - OCTOBER 26: U.S. President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (not in frame) at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on October 26, 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Trump is in Malaysia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, and will next travel to Japan, en route to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on October 26, 2025, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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.

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on September 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump will travel to Arizona to pay tribute to conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a memorial and return to the White House this evening. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump talks to the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on September 21, 2025, in Washington, DC (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

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. 

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral lunch with Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban in the Cabinet Room of the White House on November 7, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump and Orban discussed the war in Ukraine, Hungary’s purchase of Russian oil, and European relations.
President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral lunch with Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban in the Cabinet Room of the White House on November 7, 2025, in Washington, DC (Getty Images)

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.

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