Rumors circulated online in November 2025 that U.S. President Donald Trump once warned citizens of having to queue up for food — standing in so-called “bread lines” — should they wind up under the presidency of former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Users on social media platforms like Threads (archived) and Instagram (archived, archived) posted a video that featured an image of Trump juxtaposed with video of what was alleged to be people waiting in line for food in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2025.
The video also included text that read, “Remember when Trump warned of “bread lines” under Kamala Harris? Now Americans are lining up for food under his watch.”
The rumor circulated amid the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, which included the loss of SNAP benefits, also called food stamps, for millions of citizens.
Snopes found no evidence that Trump made a public statement warning about “bread lines” should Harris win the presidency.
The alleged quotation would likely have occurred in August 2024 when the topic of inflation was a primary subject of debate in the lead-up to the presidential election, particularly as Harris revealed her plan to halt “price gouging” in order to bring down the price of groceries, which was met with criticism from opponents.
A search of Trump’s social media and a review of speeches, rallies and debates during the lead-up to the November 2024 election revealed no such statement about “bread lines,” though he was certainly critical of Harris’ position on the matter.
However, notable conservative Trump allies, pundits, outlets and satire websites did directly mention “bread lines” in relation to Harris (discussed below), so it is possible social media users confused those comments as coming directly from Trump or simply distilled the overall criticisms of Harris’ plan into a sound bite they incorrectly attributed to Trump.
The White House did not respond for comment as of this writing.
During a news conference on Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump said:
Grocery prices have skyrocketed. Cereals are up 26%. Bread is up 24%. Butter is up 37%. Baby formula is up, 30%. Flour is up 38% and eggs are up 46% and many items are up at much higher rates than that. Now, Kamala is reportedly proposing communist price controls. She wants price controls and if they worked, I’d go along with it too, but they don’t work. They actually have the exact opposite impact and effect. But it leads to food shortages, rationing, hunger, dramatically more inflation.
Trump repeated the claims in a post on Truth Social later the same day.
The self-described “world’s best satire site,” The Babylon Bee, appeared to be the first to reference Harris in relation to bread lines in an article posted on Aug. 15, 2024. It read in part:
Beloved presidential candidate Kamala Harris recently unveiled a touching new plan to hang a sign reading “Joy” over every bread line in America if she is elected president.
According to her speech, the sign would help encourage Americans who will be forced to wait in miles-long bread lines for a small government handout of watery soup and gluten-free bread. Several journalists have already embraced Kamala’s plan, pointing out the morale boost it will offer the American people.
On Aug. 16, 2024, The New York Post reported that a “senior economic economic fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute” compared Harris’ plan to the gasoline shortage of the 1970s. They reportedly said, “Everyone who lived through or studied the 1970s knows price controls are disastrous because they lead to shortages. Demand far outstrips supply. … This is why you had gas lines.”
On Aug. 17, 2024, CNN commentator Scott Jennings said during a broadcast, “If you like bread lines, product shortages, black markets, hoarding, if you want to recreate the happy economic conditions of ‘The Walking Dead,’ Kamala Harris has a plan for you.”
Jennings repeated the sentiment with a post on X (archived) that shared an alternate clip of himself on the air repeating a near-identical sentiment. The post said, “If you like shortages, bread lines, hoarding, black markets and total economic anarchy, does Kamala Harris have a deal for you.”
Conservative outlet Real Clear Politics posted an Op-Ed on Aug. 18, 2024, titled, “Food Costs and Price Controls: Kamala’s Bread Lines Ahead?” and days later, on Aug. 20, 2024, Tesla co-founder and Trump advocate Elon Musk reposted a comment on X (archived) about Harris’ proposed policies adding, “This path leads to bread lines & ugly shoes.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference on Aug. 21, 2024, to discuss a Florida hurricane relief program, but mentioned Harris’ then-recent proposals and said, “If they do that, we’re going to end up having bread lines to be able to get food at the super market. It’s a truly insane policy.”
Video of DeSantis’ speech can be viewed on his X account as well as in reporting by local newspaper the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
In sum, we found no evidence of Trump himself warning of “bread lines” as a result of Harris’ proposed policies, but the phrase did make the rounds in the media at the time, so it’s possible it became conflated with Trump’s rhetoric that implied a similar outcome.
Sources
– YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZFjBFrYGhY. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
Christenson, Josh. Exclusive | ‘No Upside’ to Harris’ ‘Soviet-Style’ Grocery Price Fixing, Likely to Spark Worst Shortages since 1970s: Economists. 16 Aug. 2024, https://nypost.com/2024/08/16/us-news/no-upside-to-harris-soviet-style-grocery-price-fixing-likely-to-spark-worst-shortages-since-1970s-economists/.
Clark, Jeffrey. “Harris’ Price Control Plan Will Cause ‘bread Lines’ and Recreate ‘The Walking Dead’ Economy: CNN Commentator.” Text.Article. Fox News, 17 Aug. 2024, https://www.foxnews.com/media/harris-price-control-plan-cause-bread-lines-recreate-the-walking-dead-economy-cnn-commentator.
CNN.Com – Transcripts. https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/ebo/date/2024-08-16/segment/01. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
Dale, Daniel. “Fact Check: Trump Makes More than 20 False Claims at News Conference | CNN Politics.” CNN, 16 Aug. 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/15/politics/fact-check-trump-bedminster-news-conference.
Food Costs and Price Controls: Kamala’s Bread Lines Ahead? | RealClearPolitics. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/08/18/food_costs_and_price_controls_kamalas_bread_lines_ahead_151468.html. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
Hammond, Aditi Sangal, Tori B. Powell, Kaanita Iyer, Elise. “August 16, 2024, Presidential Campaign News | CNN Politics.” CNN, 16 Aug. 2024, https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-harris-election-08-16-24.
Mendoza, Jesse. “Gov. Ron DeSantis Visits Sarasota, Calls VP Harris ‘vapid,’ and Defends Election Night.” Sarasota Herald-Tribune, https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/politics/state/2024/08/21/desantis-talks-politics-and-debby-recovery-during-sarasota-stop/74886042007/. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
Nerozzi, Diana. Trump Blasts Kamala Harris’ High Grocery Prices and “Maduro Plan” While Standing in Front of Cheerios, Meat. 15 Aug. 2024, https://nypost.com/2024/08/15/us-news/trump-blasts-kamala-harris-high-grocery-prices-and-maduro-plan-while-standing-in-front-of-cheerios-meat/.
News, A. B. C. “READ: Harris-Trump Presidential Debate Transcript.” ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/harris-trump-presidential-debate-transcript/story?id=113560542. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
Reporter, Megan Cerullo, et al. Kamala Harris Wants to Ban Price Gouging to Tackle Inflation. Here’s How Economists Rate Her Plan. – CBS News. 21 Aug. 2024, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kamala-harris-dnc-economic-plan-price-gouging-ban-inflation/.
“Touching: Kamala Announces Plan To Hang ‘Joy’ Sign Above Bread Lines.” The Babylon Bee, https://babylonbee.com/news/touching-kamala-announces-plan-to-hang-sign-saying-joy-over-bread-lines. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
“Trump’s Truth.” Trump’s Truth, https://trumpstruth.org/search?end_date=2024-08-31&per_page=25&query=kamala%20bread&sort=relevance&start_date=2024-08-01. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
