Summary4 min read

Bulwark Takes – "Trump Takes Credit for a Walmart Sale. Again."

Date: July 8, 2026
Host: Kathryn Rampell (with interludes from Bulwark team)

Main Theme

This episode of Bulwark Takes centers on former President Donald Trump’s tendency to publicly take credit for major retailers’ regular sales and business decisions, exemplified by his recent claims about Walmart’s price drops. Host Kathryn Rampell provides sharp commentary on the performative and mutually beneficial media cycle that allows such unsubstantiated credit-claiming to proliferate.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Walmart “Marketing Hack”

[00:30]

Kathryn Rampell sets the tone: “Do you want some free advertising for your business? …make sure to tell the President that it’s all thanks to him.”
Trump posted about Walmart’s July 4th ground beef discount, tying it to his administration and the nation’s 250th birthday.
- Trump’s statement: Walmart “will be lowering prices by a lot at my administration’s request…A huge deal for many millions of Americans who smartly shop at Walmart, which is a truly patriotic company who loves the USA, blah blah blah blah blah.”
Rampell calls out the reality: retailers run sales all the time for seasonal events; Trump “either fell for or…was in on the same kind of con last Thanksgiving also regarding Walmart.”

2. Not the First Time: Thanksgiving “Deal”

[02:03]

Trump previously took credit for Walmart’s Thanksgiving meal bundle being allegedly much cheaper, blaming “Sleepy Joe Biden” for past high prices (Quote, 02:03):
- Trump: "That Thanksgiving bundle is 25% less for Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings than it was under Sleepy Joe Biden's administration."
Rampell debunks this: Walmart’s “deal” was not apples-to-apples; the bundle had lower-quality brands and less food than the previous year (02:26):
- “That Thanksgiving bundle was indeed cheaper, but that’s because it had worse brands and less actual food in it…It wasn’t exactly apples to apples or turkeys to turkeys or whatever analogy you want to use.”

3. The Broader Pattern: Inflated Presidential Credit

[04:49]

Trump isn’t alone: the White House amplified DoorDash’s report about cheaper breakfast items as “evidence that inflation has been tamed” (04:49).
- Silly specifics cited: “some breakfast foods ordered on DoorDash…gotten cheaper…as if that is evidence of anything regarding broader trends in inflation.”
Trump’s over-the-top claims (05:15):
- “In the past six months the price of breakfast items has fallen 14%. Bread prices are down. Dairy prices are down. The price of eggs has declined 86% since March…because when I took over, it was an egg crisis, as we said.”
Rampell’s analogy: “Just like the rooster likes to take credit for the sun rising, Trump loves to take credit for things that companies were already planning to do, often because it’s mutually beneficial for everyone to do this.” (05:33)

4. Corporate Announcements and the “Sale Grift”

[05:58 – 06:40]

Numerous corporate investments (aluminum plant in Alabama, Corning in Michigan, J&J Stargate, Softbank, Apple) announced during the Trump administration were actually decided or launched under Biden.
- Example: “Construction for that [aluminum] plant began in 2022, when Biden was still president.” (05:58)
- Corporate PR: Apple reissued its $430 million investment as “new” upon Trump’s return, though it was the same investment as under Biden.
Rampell says this is a “tried and true trick”: companies “want the president to amplify marketing for the Made in America stuff, Invest in America stuff you already plan to do.”
She suggests, with biting sarcasm, that every company should join in on this “sale grift”:
- “Just ping the White House every time you have a promo going on. Here at Westfield Chevrolet, all prices are rock bottom, thanks to our great president. Drive yours off the lot today…” (06:41)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Rampell, on the marketing ‘hack’ [00:30]:

“Next time you are having a sale, make sure to tell the President that it's all thanks to him.”
Trump on the Thanksgiving Walmart bundle [02:03]:

“Thanksgiving for the United States of America under Donald Trump as president is 25% less for Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings than it was under Sleepy Joe Biden's administration.”
Rampell, debunking the deal [02:26]:

“It wasn't exactly apples to apples or turkeys to turkeys or whatever analogy you want to use.”
Rampell, the influencer-in-chief [06:41]:

“Because, you know, this is what happens when instead of a statesman in the White House, you have an influencer in chief, a narcissistic influencer in chief at that. He can't resist a great deal, especially if that deal might help his poll numbers.”

Key Timestamps

00:30: Kathryn Rampell introduces Trump’s credit-claiming for Walmart’s sale.
02:03: Trump’s Thanksgiving bundle boast; reality check on the “deal.”
04:49: Example of White House promoting DoorDash report as inflation progress.
05:33: Rampell’s “rooster and the sun” analogy.
05:58: Callout of Trump taking credit for investments and projects actually planned or started under Biden.
06:41: Rampell’s satirical take on companies leveraging presidential amplification and the influencer-in-chief dynamic.

Tone & Style

The episode is biting, breezy, and laced with sarcasm. Rampell mixes sharp fact-checking with humor and pointed analogies, maintaining a conversational but incisive Bulwark vibe. Through memorable phrases (“influencer in chief,” “sale grift”), she lampoons both presidential self-promotion and companies eager to ride the political news cycle.

In sum: Bulwark Takes skewers both Trump and opportunistic businesses for their performative alliance, highlighting the absurdities when governance turns influencer and companies chase clout—one “deal” at a time.

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Transcript12 lines

[00:01]
A
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[00:30]
B
Hey, welcome to Bulwark Takes. I'm Kathryn Rampell and I am here with a brilliant new marketing hack courtesy of Donald Trump. Do you want some free advertising for your business? Well, next time you are having a sale, make sure to tell the President that it's all thanks to him. Yesterday, President Trump posted I have just been informed that one of the biggest, best and smartest retailers in America, Walmart, will be lowering prices by a lot at my administration's request. To celebrate our great country's 250th birthday, Walmart will in particular be dropping the price for a pound of ground beef by almost 15%, among many other products. This is a huge deal for many millions of Americans who smartly shop at Walmart, which is a truly patriotic company who loves the usa, blah blah blah blah blah. If you've ever shopped at Walmart, you know that they have these rolling sales and promotions all the time. That's sort of the business model for retailers like this. In fact, it's not just Walmart. There are lots of companies still running their July 4th sales and may soon have other seasonal discounts pegged to back to school season or similar. But sure, you know, credit our fearless leader. Trump actually fell for or maybe was in on the same kind of con last Thanksgiving also regarding Walmart, when he took credit for what Walmart market as its best offer yet for Thanksgiving.
[02:03]
C
Great company Walmart they announced today with after many years. They do this every year for many years. That Thanksgiving for the United States of America under Donald Trump as president is 25% less for Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings than it was under Sleepy Joe Biden's administration.
[02:26]
B
That Thanksgiving bundle was indeed cheaper, but that's because it had worse brands and less actual food in it than the previous year's deal from Walmart. So it wasn't exactly apples to apples or turkeys to turkeys or whatever analogy you want to use.
[02:41]
D
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[04:50]
B
like Trump is going to check any of this. It's all free advertising for everyone involved. Around the same time, the White house blasted out DoorDash's State of Local Commerce report as evidence that inflation has been tamed because apparently some breakfast foods ordered on the DoorDash app had gotten cheaper in the prior year. As if that is evidence of anything regarding broader trends in inflation in the
[05:16]
C
past six months the price of breakfast items has fallen 14%. Bread prices are down. Dairy prices are down. The price of eggs has declined 86% since March. And much more than that since when I took over, because when I took over, it was an egg crisis, as we said.
[05:34]
B
Just like the rooster likes to take credit for the sun rising, Trump loves to take credit for things that companies were already planning to do, often because it's mutually beneficial for everyone to do this. There's the aluminum plant getting built in Alabama that the Trump White House took credit for.
[05:50]
C
It's doubling and tripling. And we have steel plants being built all over the country. Nobody thought they'd see that, even though
[05:58]
B
construction for that plant began in 2022, when Biden was still president. Or there was the Corning investment in Michigan, also announced a year before Trump returned to the White House. Or similar investments from J and J Stargate, Softbank, Apple. Apple, in fact, announced 400 million, 430 million, something like that investment early in Biden's term. Then when Trump returned to office, had a very similar announcement for what kind of seemed like the exact same investment. And this is a tried and true trick, wanting the president to amplify marketing for the Made in America stuff, Invest in America stuff you already plan to do.
[06:41]
C
And.
[06:41]
B
And not every company has the means to make these big splashy announcements like this to suck up to a president and get some good marketing. But honestly, every company out there should do this sale grift thing. Just ping the White House every time you have a promo going on. You know, here at Westfield Chevrolet, all prices are rock bottom, thanks to our great president. Drive yours off the lot today. Or maybe Trump will start tweeting about how customers can save 200 bucks on a new couch at Raymore and Flanagan, something along those lines. Because, you know, this is what happens when instead of a statesman in the White House, you have an influencer in chief, a narcissistic influencer in chief at that. He can't resist a great deal, especially if that deal might help his poll numbers. If you like, takes like this one, make sure to like and subscribe to the bulwark.