{"id":1050960,"date":"2025-01-24T10:09:45","date_gmt":"2025-01-24T15:09:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1050960"},"modified":"2025-01-27T10:10:59","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T15:10:59","slug":"trump-promised-to-lower-costs-but-hes-more-focused-on-raising-drug-prices-releasing-violent-criminals-and-enriching-his-billionaire-backers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-promised-to-lower-costs-but-hes-more-focused-on-raising-drug-prices-releasing-violent-criminals-and-enriching-his-billionaire-backers\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Promised to Lower Costs, but He\u2019s More Focused on Raising Drug Prices, Releasing Violent Criminals, and Enriching His Billionaire Backers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>MEMORANDUM<\/strong><br>TO: Interested Parties<br>FROM: DNC War Room<br>DATE: January 24, 2025<br>RE: Trump Promised to Lower Costs, but He\u2019s More Focused on Raising Drug Prices, Releasing Violent Criminals, and Enriching His Billionaire Backers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Donald Trump is already breaking his promises and screwing over the American people. After spending his entire campaign lying about his plans to bring down prices, Trump spent his first week in office threatening health care access, moving to raise prescription drug prices, pardoning violent criminals, and laying the groundwork for another tax handout to billionaires. From the minute he took the oath of office, Trump admitted he \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/factpostnews\/status\/1882265110372110661\">do[es]n\u2019t care<\/a>\u201d about the economy, instead focusing on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/jan\/21\/donald-trump-inauguration-paris-agreement-climate-executive-orders\">old grievances<\/a>, attacks on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/jan\/22\/trump-executive-orders-healthcare\">critical programs<\/a>, and handouts for<a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-is-putting-billionaires-worth-over-1-trillion-first-and-literally-leaving-the-american-people-in-the-cold\/\"> his billionaire backers<\/a> \u2014 not what\u2019s best for working families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trump spent his entire campaign peddling lies about his promises to lower costs for Americans in his second term:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2025\/01\/19\/us\/politics\/trump-president-promises.html\">Make America affordable again<\/a>\u201d and end inflation \u201crapidly,\u201d starting on his first day in office<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lower the cost of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.econclubny.org\/documents\/10184\/109144\/20240905_Trump_Transcript.pdf\">everything<\/a>\u201d including groceries, electricity rates, airfare, and housing\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bring down energy prices by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2025\/01\/19\/us\/politics\/trump-president-promises.html\">50%<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduce the price of gas, even below <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2025\/01\/19\/us\/politics\/trump-president-promises.html\">$2 a gallon\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lower mortgage rates 3% and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.econclubny.org\/documents\/10184\/109144\/20240905_Trump_Transcript.pdf\">maybe even lower than that<\/a>\u201d to make housing more affordable<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2026 but here\u2019s what Trump spent his first days in office doing instead:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Gave billionaires collectively worth <a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-is-putting-billionaires-worth-over-1-trillion-first-and-literally-leaving-the-american-people-in-the-cold\/\">over $1 trillion<\/a> a front row seat to his inauguration while leaving the American people out in the cold<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/initial-rescissions-of-harmful-executive-orders-and-actions\/\">Rolled back<\/a> a Biden-Harris rule to lower drug costs for millions of Americans<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Signed executive order <a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/donald-trump-launches-day-one-attack-on-affordable-care-act\/\">gutting protections<\/a> for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pushed congressional Republicans to go along with his national tax to pay for <a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-day-one-agenda-higher-costs-cuts-to-education-funding-and-handouts-for-himself-and-ultra-rich-friends\/\">another tax handout<\/a> for his billionaire friends\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/01\/21\/trump-fight-biden-infrastructure-money-00199796\">Halted<\/a> thousands of infrastructure, transportation, and energy infrastructure projects funded under the Inflation Reduction Act\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/donald-trump-pardons-violent-january-6-insurrectionists-who-assaulted-police-officers\/\">Pardoned<\/a> violent January 6 rioters who assaulted police and attacked our democracy\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Featured his close advisor, Elon Musk, doing <a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/%F0%9F%9A%A8-trumps-inauguration-features-neo-nazis-and-hitler-salutes-from-top-ally\/\">Nazi salutes<\/a> at an inauguration event<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Invited a <a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/%F0%9F%9A%A8-trumps-inauguration-features-neo-nazis-and-hitler-salutes-from-top-ally\/\">Nazi sympathizer<\/a> to his inauguration ceremony\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Signed an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government\/\">executive order<\/a> attacking reproductive rights, pushing the extreme fetal personhood theory, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/jan\/22\/trump-executive-order-trans-reaction\">gutting<\/a> protections for transgender Americans\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Shut down the White House\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/politics\/trump-adminstration-shuts-down-white-house-spanish-language-page-and-social-media\">Spanish-language page<\/a>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Handed out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.notus.org\/whitehouse\/trump-security-clearances\">top secret security clearances<\/a> without <em>any <\/em>of the usual background checks, risking our national security<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rolled back <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/factpostnews\/status\/1881769273174954313\">ethics requirements<\/a> signed into law by the Biden-Harris administration\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Advocated for his <a href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/donald-trumps-stacking-his-cabinet-with-billionaires-who-will-put-wall-street-over-main-street\/\">billionaire Cabinet<\/a>, pressuring the Senate to confirm his <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/factpostnews\/status\/1879980701363179602\">unfit<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/factpostnews\/status\/1882115728838422662\">extreme<\/a> nominees\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/factpostnews\/status\/1882111950626205893\">Overturned<\/a> the Equal Employment Opportunity order, which protected Americans against employment discrimination\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stripped <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/01\/20\/politics\/trump-revokes-security-clearances-former-officials-hunter-biden-laptop-letter\/index.html\">51 former national security officials<\/a> of their security clearance as an act of revenge<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pursued his perceived grievances against civil servants by firing career officials across the government, including \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/immigration\/trump-fired-four-top-immigration-court-officials-hours-taking-office-rcna188637\">four top officials<\/a>\u201d from the DOJ\u2019s Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees the immigration courts; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/01\/21\/coast-guard-commandant-removed-from-post-00199637\">4-star Coast Guard Chief<\/a> Admiral Linda Fagan; and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/01\/21\/politics\/trump-touts-political-firings-and-retribution-and-installs-loyalists-at-key-posts\/index.html\">over a dozen<\/a> senior State Department career officials, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/01\/21\/politics\/trump-touts-political-firings-and-retribution-and-installs-loyalists-at-key-posts\/index.html\">raising \u201calarm bells<\/a>\u201d from current officials\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Signed an executive order <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/01\/20\/politics\/federal-employee-protections-trump-executive-order\/index.html\">weakening protections<\/a> for federal employees, making it easier to fire civil servants and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2022\/07\/22\/trump-presidency-schedule-f-federal-employees\">install loyalists<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Signed an executive order attempting to <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/factpostnews\/status\/1881516464684814771\">overrule the 14th Amendment<\/a> and end birthright citizenship\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Picked a fight with a bishop and <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-inaugural-prayer-service-washington-national-cathedral-interfaith-a95b36f962be93c8647cc5144266da11\">demanded an apology<\/a> after attending the National Prayer Service\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2024\/11\/14\/trump-might-cede-climate-leadership-to-china-.html\">Ceded global leadership<\/a> to China by withdrawing from the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/factpostnews\/status\/1881492626374898149\">Paris climate agreement<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/01\/21\/politics\/trump-executive-action-world-health-organization-withdrawal\/index.html\">World Health Organization<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/restoring-names-that-honor-american-greatness\/\">Renamed<\/a> Mount Denali and the Gulf of Mexico<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bottom line:<\/strong> Trump can lie about campaign promises and lowering costs all he wants, but his actions make his priorities clear: He\u2019s focused on his personal grievances and putting billionaires and ultra-wealthy special interests first \u2014 and the American people last.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MEMORANDUMTO: Interested PartiesFROM: DNC War RoomDATE: January 24, 2025RE: Trump Promised to Lower Costs, but He\u2019s More Focused on Raising Drug Prices, Releasing Violent Criminals, and Enriching His Billionaire Backers Donald Trump is already breaking his promises and screwing over the American people. After spending his entire campaign lying about his plans to bring down [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1050960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Trump Promised to Lower Costs, but He\u2019s More Focused on Raising Drug Prices, Releasing Violent Criminals, and Enriching His Billionaire Backers - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-promised-to-lower-costs-but-hes-more-focused-on-raising-drug-prices-releasing-violent-criminals-and-enriching-his-billionaire-backers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-24T15:09:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-27T15:10:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-promised-to-lower-costs-but-hes-more-focused-on-raising-drug-prices-releasing-violent-criminals-and-enriching-his-billionaire-backers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-promised-to-lower-costs-but-hes-more-focused-on-raising-drug-prices-releasing-violent-criminals-and-enriching-his-billionaire-backers\/\",\"name\":\"Trump Promised to Lower Costs, but He\u2019s More Focused on Raising Drug Prices, Releasing Violent Criminals, and Enriching His Billionaire Backers - Democrats\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-24T15:09:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-27T15:10:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/00292e8c1694c8322513663ebb5f246f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-promised-to-lower-costs-but-hes-more-focused-on-raising-drug-prices-releasing-violent-criminals-and-enriching-his-billionaire-backers\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-promised-to-lower-costs-but-hes-more-focused-on-raising-drug-prices-releasing-violent-criminals-and-enriching-his-billionaire-backers\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-promised-to-lower-costs-but-hes-more-focused-on-raising-drug-prices-releasing-violent-criminals-and-enriching-his-billionaire-backers\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trump Promised to Lower Costs, but He\u2019s More Focused on Raising Drug Prices, Releasing Violent Criminals, and Enriching His Billionaire Backers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/\",\"name\":\"Democrats\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/00292e8c1694c8322513663ebb5f246f\",\"name\":\"Adrianna Tomasello\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1caa4627f6a3abd6a1daf936cdbaf4406f86f7fcb6a945d915b685b27e7f9a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1caa4627f6a3abd6a1daf936cdbaf4406f86f7fcb6a945d915b685b27e7f9a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Adrianna Tomasello\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/author\/tomaselloa\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump Promised to Lower Costs, but He\u2019s More Focused on Raising Drug Prices, Releasing Violent Criminals, and Enriching His Billionaire Backers - Democrats","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-promised-to-lower-costs-but-hes-more-focused-on-raising-drug-prices-releasing-violent-criminals-and-enriching-his-billionaire-backers\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_site_name":"Democrats","article_published_time":"2025-01-24T15:09:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-27T15:10:59+00:00","author":"Adrianna Tomasello","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Adrianna Tomasello","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-promised-to-lower-costs-but-hes-more-focused-on-raising-drug-prices-releasing-violent-criminals-and-enriching-his-billionaire-backers\/","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-promised-to-lower-costs-but-hes-more-focused-on-raising-drug-prices-releasing-violent-criminals-and-enriching-his-billionaire-backers\/","name":"Trump Promised to Lower Costs, but He\u2019s More Focused on Raising Drug Prices, Releasing Violent Criminals, and Enriching His Billionaire Backers - Democrats","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-01-24T15:09:45+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-27T15:10:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/00292e8c1694c8322513663ebb5f246f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-promised-to-lower-costs-but-hes-more-focused-on-raising-drug-prices-releasing-violent-criminals-and-enriching-his-billionaire-backers\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-promised-to-lower-costs-but-hes-more-focused-on-raising-drug-prices-releasing-violent-criminals-and-enriching-his-billionaire-backers\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trump-promised-to-lower-costs-but-hes-more-focused-on-raising-drug-prices-releasing-violent-criminals-and-enriching-his-billionaire-backers\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trump Promised to Lower Costs, but He\u2019s More Focused on Raising Drug Prices, Releasing Violent Criminals, and Enriching His Billionaire Backers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/","name":"Democrats","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/00292e8c1694c8322513663ebb5f246f","name":"Adrianna Tomasello","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1caa4627f6a3abd6a1daf936cdbaf4406f86f7fcb6a945d915b685b27e7f9a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1caa4627f6a3abd6a1daf936cdbaf4406f86f7fcb6a945d915b685b27e7f9a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Adrianna Tomasello"},"url":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/author\/tomaselloa\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1050960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/292"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1050960"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1050960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1050962,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1050960\/revisions\/1050962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1050960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1050960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1050960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}