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By Giulia Carbonaro
Senior Reporter
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MAGA commentator Bill Mitchell is facing a growing pushback on social media after suggesting Americans switch to veggie burgers to avoid higher beef costs, which have been climbing in recent months as the U.S. cattle supply shrinks.
Ground beef prices hit $7.16 per pound in August, according to the latest data by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, rising 0.6 percent from July and 7.9 percent from a year earlier. That was more than double the rate of overall annual inflation rate, at 3.4 percent, and triple that for food overall.
Commenting on the high beef prices, Mitchell, host and founder of conservative podcast YourVoice America, wrote on X: “With regards to beef prices, have you ever tried a veggie burger? They’re actually really good.”
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He added: “A little lettuce, tomato, pickles, a portobello mushroom, slice of Swiss cheese. Excellent.”
While some users said they could not tell if the post was tongue-in-cheek, others accused Mitchell of being “tone deaf” for not “calling for action to bring beef prices back down to the levels they were only a short time ago.”
In response to a request for comment by Newsweek, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said: “President Trump has done more for American agriculture than anyone by negotiating new trade deals, expanding foreign market access, lowering input costs, bolstering the farm safety net, doubling the death tax exemption, ending taxes on rural property loan interest, creating rural opportunity zones, and more.
“At the same time, he is delivering on his promise to consumers by reducing beef prices while allowing our American beef herd to grow. The President will continue taking actions to support our great farmers while driving economic prosperity for all Americans.”
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment by email on Friday.
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Owen Shroyer, who hosted the War Room show on the far-right website Infowars from 2016 to 2025 and spent two months in prison for the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, wrote in response to Mitchell's comment: “That’s the message to win midterms!”
Mark Mitchell, Head Pollster at the Honest Polling Company, simply wrote: “MAGA!”
Mitchell did not clarify whether his recommendation to try veggie burgers as an alternative to beef burgers was ironic or not. In a follow-up post on X, he wrote: “Seen some people joking about veggie burgers in the replies. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I think they’re great when prepared well.”
In another post, he hit back at users criticizing him for not demanding the administration do more to lower beef prices: “I’m willing to bet that you have no idea whatsoever why we’re even in a beef crisis right now. You probably think it’s Trump’s fault.”
He added: “That’s actually laughable. This is an industry problem, not an economic policy problem.”
Why Are Beef Prices So High?
Beef prices have been steadily rising in recent months as more frequent and more severe droughts and wildfires, exacerbated by global warming, higher costs and international competition have discouraged U.S. farmers and ranchers from expanding their cattle herds.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. cattle herd, which includes both beef and dairy cattle, has shrunk to the smallest since 1951, with domestic producers counting 86.2 million head of cattle on the first day of 2026.
The recent increases in the cost of diesel, pushed up by disruptions to the global oil supplies caused by the ongoing war in Iran, are likely to have exacerbated U.S. farmers and ranchers’ struggles, as diesel fuel is the primary energy source that drives cattle ranching operations, powering roughly 75 percent of all heavy agricultural equipment in the U.S.
As of Friday, the average diesel price in the country was $6.45 per gallon, according to data by the American Automobile Association (AAA), up from $3.71 per gallon a year ago.
What is the Trump Administration Doing About It?
President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a promise to lower the cost of living for Americans, has been trying to ease the pain of more expensive beef on American consumers, though this has not stopped prices from rising.
In February, Trump added 80,000 metric tons of Argentine lean beef trimmings to the tariff-rate quota, intended to increase the supply available for ground beef.
In August, the administration authorized another temporary increase in the quantity of lean beef trimmings that are imported to the U.S. with no above-quota tariff, so as “to ensure affordable beef for American consumers in light of current supply challenges,” the White House wrote.
The action, which appears to go against President Donald Trump’s America-first agenda, “includes key safeguards to maximize cost savings while protecting American ranchers from foreign imports and giving space for American ranchers to grow the domestic herd,” according to the administration.
Some 300,000 metric tons of lean beef trimmings were so allowed to be imported under the lower in-quota tariff rate, divided into three 100,000-ton tranches from September through November.
The administration is also phasing back in imports of live cattle from Mexico after restrictions related to New World screwworm, which angered U.S. farmers and ranchers relying on imports from the neighboring country.
These measures, however, have not meaningfully lowered prices or stopped their climb.
Earlier this month, Trump directed the Department of Justice to investigate whether U.S. meatpackers are colluding to raise prices—a move that has angered U.S. farmers and ranchers.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Cristina Diciu.
Update, 9/18/2026 10:30 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a comment from a White House spokesperson.
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