In the most recent social media spat, a repost by President Donald Trump on America’s ‘eggflation’ crisis, resulted in the Left and Right going ‘elbows-up’ on X. Netizens on the Left shared their disillusionment for what they perceive to be broken promises by Trump after only fifty days in office. Moreover, there is growing frustration in some conservative circles as well about Trump repeatedly going back on his word on a number of key issues, specifically, his promise to lower the price of eggs in 2025. On the other side, MAGA loyalists came to Trump’s defence on X, offering explanations that pushback any criticism of mismanagement. One such individual, political commentator Charlie Kirk, cited the ‘bird-flu’ in an article as the core problem and advised Americans to, “shut up about egg prices”. Trump’s repost of said tweet was met with a barrage of fiery objections and absurd ‘memery’ to last us until the end of the year. But what is really behind the egg crisis in America?
According to a 2025 article published by The Guardian, corporations may be leveraging the avian-flu to inflate prices. The article goes on to say that “powerful corporations control every step of the supply chain – and are making windfall profits off this crisis, raising their prices above and beyond what is necessary to cover any rising costs.” In addition, “Cal-Maine, which produces one in every five eggs eaten in the US, issued shareholder dividends totaling $250m in fiscal year 2023 – 40 times more than the previous fiscal year.” A separate study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics also found that bird flu alone cannot explain present-day consumer prices, which rose by 61% over the past few months. Cal-Maine, one of the US’ largest egg producers, saw a sevenfold increase in profits. One politician vented by saying, “The Trump administration has the power to lower grocery bills, but instead they are imposing blanket tariffs on allies, firing federal workers, and putting billionaires over ordinary Americans.” Then there is the old adage, that no one wins in a tariff war except the really wealthy. As a result, cost of living issues are no longer an afterthought in the minds of the American people. It is manifesting in the form of a dark cloud hovering overhead, and ready to rain on the masses, regardless of political affiliation.