Food
Let Them Eat Beef
the cake line, updated · beef at the record, the herd at 1951, and the official advice is more beef · as of 25 August 2026
The bill
- Ground beef, national average$6.89 a pound this year, the record — up 72 percent since January 2020, climbing at the fastest annual rate since 2018 (2026)
- The herd86.2 million head, the smallest since 1951 — drought, costs, and the screwworm did the culling (USDA, 2026)
- The forecastnormal prices projected no sooner than 2028, per the trade's own reading (2026)
The service
- October 2025The president floats Argentine beef to bring prices down; his case for the supplier: "Argentina is fighting for its life."
- February 202680,000 metric tons of Argentine lean beef authorized, in four quarterly tranches.
- August 21, 2026Tariffs lifted on up to 300,000 metric tons of imported beef trimmings — announced by social-media post.
The room
- The National Cattlemen's Beef Association, on the record"The National Cattlemen's Beef Association and its members cannot stand behind the President while he undercuts the future of family farmers and ranchers by importing Argentinian beef in an attempt to influence prices."
- Meriwether Farms of Wyoming, addressing the president directly"We love you and support you — but your suggestion to buy beef from Argentina to stabilize beef prices would be an absolute betrayal to the American cattle rancher."
- The wellness wingThe MAHA program promotes more animal protein onto the American plate while the record prints.
The herd takes a decade to rebuild; the post took a minute to write. Prices are projected normal in 2028 at the earliest. Dinner is scheduled nightly.
The Food Section
The TACO Timeline
TACO — Trump Always Chickens Out, the name the trading desks gave the pattern. Every documented threat that folded, oldest first: the bold vow to seize the news cycle, then the quiet retreat. A history of chaos — 47 and counting, from the country’s forty-seventh president.
- Apr 2017"NATO is obsolete," a 2016 line carried into office→ Standing beside NATO's chief: "I said it was obsolete. It's no longer obsolete."NPR
- Apr 2017Prepared to "terminate" NAFTA within days→ After calls from Mexico and Canada, agreed to renegotiate instead — it became USMCANPR
- Dec 2018Ordered a "full" and "rapid" withdrawal of all ~2,000 US troops from Syria, declaring ISIS defeated→ Reversed within days after backlash and Mattis's resignation; troops stayed, drawn down only to ~900BBC
- 2018–19Forced the longest government shutdown in US history demanding $5.7B for the border wall, vowing not to reopen without it→ Signed a bill reopening the government with no wall money — the same deal he had already rejectedNBC News
- 2017–19Warned North Korea that continued threats would be met "with fire and fury," mocking Kim as "Little Rocket Man"→ Pivoted to summitry — Singapore 2018, Hanoi 2019 — and walked out of Hanoi with no deal and no follow-onWikipedia
- Apr 2019Threatened to close the southern border "next week"→ Backed off, downgraded to a "one-year warning" for MexicoNPR
- May 2019Threatened 25% Section 232 "national security" tariffs on EU and Japanese autos→ Delayed the decision 180 days; the deadline passed with no action and the tariffs were never imposedCongressional Research Service
- Jun 2019Said the US was "cocked and loaded" to strike three Iranian sites after Iran downed a US drone→ Called off the strike about ten minutes before launch, citing projected casualtiesCNN
- Jun 2019Threatened 5% tariffs on all Mexican imports, rising to 25%, unless Mexico curbed migration→ "Indefinitely suspended" the tariffs after Mexico agreed to steps largely already under wayCNBC
- 2018–20Launched a trade war with escalating tariffs on ~$550B of Chinese goods to force structural change→ Settled for a limited "Phase One" truce; China's purchase pledges went largely unmetBritannica
- Jan 202125% tariffs on $1.3B of French luxury goods over the digital tax, set for Jan 6 2021→ The US suspended the tariffs indefinitely one day before they were to take effectWashington Post
- 2020–21Ordered ~9,500 US troops pulled from Germany over defense-spending complaints→ The withdrawal was never carried out before he left office; formally halted in 2021CBS News
- Nov 2024Named Matt Gaetz his Attorney General nominee→ Gaetz withdrew under Senate pressure eight days later; Trump accepted it and picked BondiNPR
- Jan 2025Announced emergency 25% tariffs on all Colombian goods, threatening to double them to 50% in a week, after Colombia blocked deportation flights→ Put the tariffs "on hold" within hours after Colombia agreed to take the flightsCBS News
- 2020–25Issued a 2020 order to ban TikTok or force its sale over national-security fears→ Flipped to "saving" it, signing repeated 2025 orders to keep it running and delay the banNPR
- Feb 2025"The US will take over and own" Gaza and turn it into a "Riviera"→ Within 24 hours his own officials walked it back: no US troops, no US funding, relocation "temporary"Euronews
- Feb 2025Ordered 25% tariffs on Canadian imports over fentanyl and the border, set to take effect Feb 4→ Paused them for 30 days after Canada announced border-enforcement stepsCNBC
- Feb 2025Ordered 25% tariffs on all Mexican imports over fentanyl and the border→ Paused them for 30 days after Mexico agreed to send 10,000 troops to the borderPBS NewsHour
- Mar 2025"We're taking back" the Panama Canal, refusing to rule out military force→ Settled for a BlackRock-led consortium buying the canal's ports; no US takeover, the canal stays PanamanianCBS News
- Mar 2025Nominated Rep. Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador→ Withdrew the nomination to protect the thin House GOP majorityCNBC
- Apr 2025Posted that Fed Chair Jerome Powell's "termination cannot come fast enough"→ Said days later he had "no intention" of firing Powell — "none whatsoever"CNBC
- Apr 2025Declared "Liberation Day," imposing sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs on nearly every trading partner→ Paused the country-specific tariffs for 90 days hours after they hit and markets plunged, keeping a 10% baselinePolitiFact
- Apr 2025Escalated tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%→ Slashed them to 30% under a 90-day Geneva truce weeks laterPBS NewsHour
- Apr 2025Insisted there would be "no exemptions" from the reciprocal tariffs→ Exempted smartphones, computers and chips days after imposing themCNBC
- May 2025Threatened a "straight 50%" tariff on the EU starting June 1, calling the bloc impossible to deal with→ Delayed it to July 9 two days later after a call with von der Leyen; settled on a 15% dealCNBC
- May 2025Ordered a 100% tariff on "any and all" foreign-made movies→ The White House walked it back within a day: "no final decisions," focus shifted to tax incentivesNPR
- Jun 2025Ordered ICE to pause worksite raids on farms, hotels and restaurants, bowing to the farm lobby→ Reversed the pause four days laterNBC News
- Jul 2025
- Jul 2025Threatened pharmaceutical tariffs "up to 200%," later "250%," coming "very soon"→ Gave a grace period "of about a year, year and a half"; pharma stayed exempt into 2026CNBC
- Jul 2025
- Jul 2025Threatened South Korea with a 25% tariff by the Aug 1 deadline→ Cut to 15% in a trade deal days before the deadlineCNN
- Jul 2025The Pentagon paused weapons shipments to Ukraine→ Trump reversed it within a week: "we're going to send some more weapons"NPR
- Jul 2025Gave Putin a 50-day ultimatum, later shortened to 10–12 days, to reach a ceasefire or face 100% tariffs and sanctions→ The deadline passed with no new sanctions; he hosted Putin at an Alaska summit insteadCNBC
- Aug 2025Announced a blanket 50% tariff on copper imports; COMEX copper spiked to records→ The fine print exempted refined copper, cathodes and ore — only semi-finished goods hit; futures then plungedWhite & Case
- Aug 2025Announced a 100% tariff on imported semiconductors→ Carved out, in the same breath, every company "building in the US" — Apple, TSMC and the rest — hollowing the threatCNBC
- Oct 2025Threatened an additional 100% tariff on China over rare-earth curbs, effective Nov 1→ Dropped the 100% threat at the Xi summit, agreed a one-year truce and actually cut China tariffsCNBC
- Nov 2025Slapped a 50% tariff on Brazil over Bolsonaro's prosecution→ Carved out coffee, beef, orange juice and other top exports; coffee later cut to zeroSupply Chain Dive
- Nov 2025Hit Switzerland with a 39% tariff, one of the highest on any country→ Cut it to 15% in a trade dealCNN
- Mar 202648-hour ultimatum: reopen the Strait of Hormuz or the US will "hit and obliterate" Iran's power plants→ Postponed the strikes five days, citing "very good and productive" talks Iran said never happenedCNBC
- Mar 2026The five-day pause expired with a renewed threat to destroy Iran's power grid→ Extended the pause another ten days, saying talks were "going very well"Al Jazeera
- Apr 2026Deadline-day threat: "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" if no deal→ About ten hours later called off the strike and announced a two-week ceasefire brokered by PakistanNBC News
- Apr 2026With the two-week ceasefire expiring, teed up an attack if Iran didn't submit a proposal→ Extended the ceasefire indefinitely, "until such time as their proposal is submitted"Al Jazeera
- May 2026"Scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow"→ Told the military "we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack": "I put it off for a little while, hopefully maybe forever"CNBC
- Jul 2026"I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. We are all set for it"→ Pulled back to negotiations days later, saying he'd give diplomacy another chanceAxios
- Aug 2026"Locked and loaded and ready to go," threatening "large new attacks" on Iran's energy infrastructure→ Canceled the planned strikes; his claim that a deal was pending was denied by IranNPR
- Aug 2026Threatened 50% tariffs on Canada, effective midnight→ Paused with two hours to spare — "we have a deal," pending paperwork. The deal collapsed in three days and the tariffs took effect August 22; the fold stands, and so does the sequel.CNN
- Aug 2026Ordered the joint drills with South Korea "substantially reduced" to please Pyongyang→ The ally ran the exercises anyway; Seoul said they proceed as scheduledLatin Times
The Betters’ Cookbook
Money-saving meals, brought to you by the people who raised the bill. Their advice, their words — each served with the receipt.
“It can cost around $3 a meal for a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, a corn tortilla and one other thing. There is a way to do this that actually will save the average American consumer money. (They ran "over 1,000 simulations.")”
The receipt: Groceries cost the average family about $310 more in 2025. §
“People are sort of looking around thinking, "Wow, well maybe I can get a chicken in my backyard," and it's awesome.”
The receipt: Eggs hit a record near $6.23 a dozen that month, up roughly 350% on the year. §
“Fast food is not less expensive. That meal costs $12 to $14. People can eat a lot cheaper at home and a lot better food. (Launching a cooking show pitching meals "under $5 a serving.")”
The receipt: A CNN reporter cooked his $19.64 salmon-cakes meal on air. The checkout rang up $70.54. §
“I don't have anything against fast food; I'm against food that has seed oils. (He wants the fries fried in beef tallow instead.)”
The receipt: The beef his tallow gospel runs on hit an all-time record, past $6 a pound. §
“He drinks only raw, unpasteurized milk, and campaigns to loosen the restrictions on selling it.”
The receipt: Raw milk sells well above pasteurized — and the FDA warns it can carry bird flu and listeria. §
As advised by your betters
What the comfortable think you can do without — their words, sourced.
“My mother-in-law, who's 94, she wouldn't call and complain if a Social Security check didn't come. A fraudster always makes the loudest noise.”
“When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn't buying smashed avocado for nineteen bucks and four coffees at four dollars each.”