Today, more than twenty state legislators from Florida, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Maine, Hawaii, Tennessee, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Georgia, and Ohio released a report along with Defend America Action blasting the Trump administration for skyrocketing prices on everything from holiday decor to food to gifts. Content creator Jess Craven published a video breaking down the report, which can be seen here and below.
Donald Trump’s tariffs have single-handedly raised Americans’ costs on Christmas decorations, artificial trees, wreaths, ornaments, and lights – and that’s before they think about buying gifts for their families, which are 25% more expensive than they were last year. With this in mind, Trump has taken to encouraging us to limit how many gifts we give our children, saying we can “give up certain products.” Addressing the financial pinch many of their constituents are feeling, the legislators noted the Trump’s administration’s futile attempts to gaslight the American people about what they’re going through:
“These price hikes were easily predictable; toymakers warned of shortages ahead of the holiday season, and Trump himself acknowledged that toy prices would be high, even encouraging Americans to give their children fewer dolls. Of course, now Trump is burying his head in the sand, spewing blatant lies denying rising costs as many Americans find themselves taking on debt, clipping coupons, cutting costs, and stressing over finances instead of spending the holiday relaxing with family and friends.”
The report goes on to note that 85 percent of American shoppers expect to pay more this holiday season because of Trump’s tariffs, and that LendingTree estimates that tariffs will add more than $40 billion in extra costs for consumers and retailers. All this caps off a year of affordability crises that have made working families weaker while richly rewarding big corporations and the ultra-wealthy.
A full copy of the report can be found here. The names of those signing can be found below.
Rep. Anna Eskamani (Florida)
Rep. William Greer (Vermont)
Rep. Jessica Grill (New Hampshire)
Rep. Arvind Venkat (Pennsylvania)
Sen. Hillman Frazier (Mississippi)
Rep. Gary Friedmann (Maine)
Rep. Thomas Cormen (New Hampshire)
Rep. Amy Perruso (Hawaii)
Rep John Ray Clemmons (Tennessee)
Rep; Brianna Titone (Colorado)
Rep. Sonya Harper (Illinois)
Del. Dylan Behler (Maryland)
Rep. Christal Lloyd (New Hampshire)
Rep. John Cloutier (New Hampshire)
Rep. Dale Swanson (New Hampshire)
Rep. Terri O’Rorke (New Hampshire)
Rep. Timothy Horrigan (New Hampshire)
Sen. Cathy Kipp (Colorado)
Rep. Rita Harris (Florida)
Rep. Solomon Adesanya (Georgia)
Rep. Munira Abdullahi (Ohio)
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