White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt finally received a major and embarrassing fact check over her continued falsehoods and misinformation about the skyrocketing cost of groceries in the United States.
In a post on X Tuesday, Leavitt linked to a White House press release and claimed, “Prices are steadying and wages are climbing, new DoorDash report shows.”
Leavitt was citing a Fox Business story, and so did the White House press release on statistics from the food delivery service’s State of Local Commerce report.
But social media wasn’t having any of it, slapping a community note on her post and calling it “Misleading.”
The note went on to explain what the DoorDash data actually found along with a link to the survey and another link to the USDA’s latest information on rising prices from August, the last time the stats were released.
“The report actually shows rising food prices. Avg price of a cheeseburger, a soda & fries increased 3.8% YoY in Sep25 while typical restaurant meals rose 3.2%” and “This echoes latest (Aug) USDA food cost data: 2.9% more overall, 2.7% (at home) & 3.9% (in restaurants),” the X note said in correcting Leavitt.
Leavitt’s post along with the community note went viral, with more than 4.4 million views and sparking a firestorm on social media.
“Lol. Just lie after lie,” this X user said in calling Leavitt out above a post on 500 items that have increased under Trump and his administration.
“Oops! Busted again by Community Notes. The truth shall set you free, Karolies,” another X user jeered.
“Clueless as usual! Talk about not understanding how to read the room,” wrote another.
Others found it hilarious that the White House and Leavitt even cited the food delivery service’s report as a gauge on the U.S. economy.
And this one: “More people are driving doordash, that must mean the economy is getting better.” While another added, “Wow Door Dash! Are you kidding me?”
“A door dash report? We’re using a door dash report to make claims about grocery prices and wages? Are we being serious right now? You’re not, I know that,” another fumed on X.
“Yeah, but Discount Tire’s latest report on the state of the U.S. economy says we still have a problem with inflation,” mocked another.
But Leavitt isn’t alone in constantly repeating false and misleading information on the struggling economy.
Trump spent last week spewing misinformation and flat-out falsehoods about how he’s made everything from energy to food prices, except for beef, more affordable since retaking office in January.
The President started addressing the issue after Democrats resoundingly trounced Republicans in the off-year elections, with many analysts suggesting they won so many races because of the faltering economy and labor market.
But despite Trump’s best efforts to convince people that he’s lowered prices significantly, Americans are seeing some of the highest prices ever for groceries and utilities. It’s not even a matter of what the President or anybody else says, because Americans just have to look at their bills to know prices are soaring.
So many people are struggling to just pay for the staples like milk, bread and eggs, let alone beef.
And energy prices? NPR reported earlier this month that the cost of electricity is up by double digits, spiking 40 percent since February 2020, with utility companies planning more increases in the months ahead.
