Trump's desperate move to stop looming midterm bloodbath as economic downturn tears through American households

Sign up HERE to our DC Insider newsletter - your guide to what's rocking Washington, rattling the White House and setting tongues wagging on the Hill See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 08:57 EDT, 21 August 2026 | Updated: 09:47 EDT, 21 August 2026 Donald Trump will allow 300,000 tons of ground beef to be imported tariff-free over the next three months in a bid to lower food prices as Republicans brace for a potentially disastrous midterm election.Americans have faced soaring food prices, with inflation compounded by rising fuel costs stemming from the war with Iran.The average price of uncooked ground beef reached $7.12 per pound in July, up 9.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.Recent polling suggests the mounting economic strain is putting longtime Republican strongholds in play ahead of November. Trump said in a Truth Social post on Friday that he had a 'commitment' that beef would be sold at 25 percent below current market prices. The president did not specify which countries would receive tariff waivers to export beef to the US, nor did he identify who had agreed to lower prices.'As everyone knows, under President Biden, beef prices soared at their fastest rate and the American beef herd fell to its smallest size in modern history,' Trump wrote, hitting back at his predecessor. 'This deal will reduce prices for Americans while giving space for our Great American Beef Herd to grow again,' Trump concluded. Donald Trump will allow 300,000 tons of ground beef to be imported tariff-free over the next three months in a bid to lower food prices as Republicans brace for a potentially disastrous midterm election The average price of uncooked ground beef reached $7.12 per pound in July, up 9.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Trump said in a Truth Social post on Friday that he had a 'commitment' that beef would be sold at 25% below current market prices. The president did not specify which countries would receive tariff waivers to export beef to the US, nor did he identify who had agreed to lower pricesIt remains unclear how quickly the discounted beef would reach supermarket shelves or whether retailers would pass the full savings on to consumers. Over the past six months, American consumers have faced rising prices as the war with Iran has severely restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow Persian Gulf waterway that carried roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil before the conflict.Although the US receives relatively little oil directly through the strait, it is not insulated from the disruption because crude oil is traded on a global market.Higher oil prices have driven up the cost of gasoline, diesel, manufacturing and shipping. Businesses have passed some of those added expenses on to consumers through more expensive food, clothing and other everyday goods.Democrats have sought to turn the cost-of-living crisis into a referendum on Trump’s economic agenda, arguing that his tariffs and the prolonged war with Iran have only increased the pressure on American families.Trump has continued to blame Biden for high prices despite having been back in the White House for more than a year and a half.Gas prices, meanwhile, have soared to a national average of $4 a gallon, squeezing motorists in the Rust Belt swing states that were critical to Trump’s 2024 election victory.