There can be a big difference between solving problems in a campaign speech and solving them once you’re in office.
On an array of issues — from grocery prices to Ukraine to immigration to the deficit — the president-elect and his close allies already appear to be hedging on clear-cut promises that they made again and again (and which Donald Trump often said would be simple fixes) as complex realities now intervene.
Perhaps nowhere has the divide been more stark than on the core issue in last year’s election: inflation. Specifically, prices at the grocery store.
"The doughnuts are going to come down, the food is going to come down," Trump said in his last campaign rally before the election, telling a story of a woman who couldn’t afford three apples. "That should not be happening, and we aren't going to have it happen long," he said.
But it was a very different message in a Nov. 25 interview with Time published last month.
"It's hard to bring things down once they're up," he said of grocery prices, discussing challenges like supply chain issues. "You know, it's very hard."
President-elect Donald Trump arrives for a meeting with Republican governors at the Mar-a-Lago Club on January 9 in Florida. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) ·Scott Olson via Getty Images
Fiscal issues that Trump and his aides are tacking on
Trump’s allies are also pivoting on some of the campaign’s promises. A key recent example is Elon Musk, the co-head of Trump’s new extra-governmental Department of Government Efficiency.
Last fall, during a rally in Madison Square Garden, the Tesla (TSLA) CEO pledged to cut "at least" $2 trillion out of the US government’s $6+ trillion annual budget.
It raised eyebrows with budget experts and many others who noted that the entire annual US discretionary budget is just $1.7 trillion, meaning Musk would almost surely need to dip into social safety net programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security to accomplish his goals.
Immigration is another topic where complicated realities appear to be intruding.
During the campaign, Trump again and again promised mass deportations and a reordering of the immigration system.
Attendees hold signs reading "mass deportations now!" during the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 17, 2024. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) ·PATRICK T. FALLON via Getty Images
That still appears to be coming, starting with a wave of immigration-themed executive orders planned for his first day in office. But Trump and his team appear to also be preparing Americans for the fact that they may not feel changes immediately.
In a recent Meet the Press interview, the president-elect hedged slightly when asked about his promises to deport everyone in the country illegally over his coming term — saying, “It’s a very tough thing to do.”
And a recent CNN report outlined how incoming “border czar” Tom Homan has already been privately tempering Republican lawmaker expectations about the initial deportation operation, citing limited resources.
A third area where Trump is also planning to move fast is energy, with a likely wave of day-one executive orders expected to focus on things like drilling access for companies and liquid natural gas exports.
But few expect him to fulfill his promise of cutting energy prices "in half" no matter how aggressive the moves are in the coming months.
Both the US government's Energy Information Administration and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have projected that US oil production could move up to 15 million barrels of oil a day in the coming years from current levels above 13 million barrels a day.
Trump is also acknowledging challenges with fulfilling some of his overseas promises.
During the campaign, he promised not only to end the war in Ukraine easily but also to do it before he even takes office with, as he often claimed, a "single phone call."
But the three-year-old war following Russia’s invasion has proven more immune to big changes so far even after a meeting between Trump and Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky. Meanwhile, a call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected soon.
"We've got a little progress," Trump told reporters last month about ending the war but added: "It's a tough one."
Russia's President Vladimir Putin appears in Moscow on Jan. 12 in a photograph distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik (ALEXANDER KAZAKOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) ·ALEXANDER KAZAKOV via Getty Images
Another knotty area where Trump promised quick decisive action — and one he appears to be sprinting to deliver on before he takes office — is in the Middle East. Specifically, releasing hostages held by Hamas in Gaza stemming from the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel.
Incoming Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff has been traveling to the region to take a role in the talks. And Biden administration officials from the president on down are also expressing optimism that negotiators could be on the "brink" of an agreement.
During a recent press conference, Trump reiterated his desire for that campaign promise to be fulfilled quickly and also what would happen if it was not done by the time he is sworn in.
“All hell will break out,” he promised.
Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
Every Friday, Yahoo Finance's Rachelle Akuffo, Rick Newman, and Ben Werschkul bring you a unique look at how US policy and government affect your bottom line on Capitol Gains. Watch or listen to Capitol Gains on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
