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Throughout last year's presidential campaign, the former president wooed voters with promises to reduce prices starting on day one. But, once he assumed office, there was precious little focus to the cost of living. This shifted after price-fatigued voters delivered a rebuke at the polls. Within days, the Trump administration initiated a slapdash campaign to address affordability. Unfortunately, the drive is a disorganized endeavor—filled with illogical claims, contradictions, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Detached Claims and Supermarket Reality

Merely 48 hours after the election, Trump began his affordability drive with a poorly received remark: “Our groceries are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from the wealthy leader—often mingles with fellow billionaires—demonstrated a lack of empathy for millions of Americans facing difficulties when visiting the grocery store. Essentially, he dismissed their concerns as trivial, suggesting they had it wrong about actual costs.

This statement about declining prices was absurdly obtuse and inaccurate. How could all costs be falling when his cherished tariffs were increasing costs? Official statistics indicate banana prices rose 6.9% over the past year, the price of beef went up almost 15%, and the cost of coffee surged by nearly 19%—partly because of import taxes on Brazil’s coffee and beef. Between January and September, costs increased in the majority of food categories monitored by the government’s price index, including animal proteins (rising over 4%), non-alcoholic beverages (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Financial Statements

Despite these numbers, Trump persists in repeating his big lie about lower costs. Since election day, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” These statements contradict the reality that prices overall have unarguably risen since Biden left office. Currently, inflation is at a 3% annual rate, which is 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, he claimed that gas prices had dropped to around two dollars, despite official data show they are $3.19.

Faced with actual conditions and lower approval ratings, advisers apparently warned that his “costs are falling” rhetoric made him sound disconnected from typical Americans. A lot of citizens are frustrated about prices continuing to climb following promises of decreases. As a result, aides suggested one quick fix: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Possible Impact

As certain taxes being rolled back on several food items, Trump will probably announce that he has lowered costs once these products begin to fall in price. This would be like an arsonist boasting for putting out a blaze that he ignited. On another occasion, while speaking fast-food leaders, Trump stated that “this is the golden age of America” and assured the audience that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to countless households facing hardships—especially when many face losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

According to a recent poll from October, 74% of Americans think economic conditions are fair or poor, while just a quarter rate them good or excellent. Another poll found that 61% of Americans say Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Reality and Proposed Steps

Scott Bessent, the president’s top economic official, recently contradicted assertions of a prosperous era. He noted that far from booming, some parts of the US economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and shed around 33,000 jobs since January. Citing these challenges, Bessent called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—a move that could help affordability.

Reacting to public dismay about living costs, the president suggested a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” To numerous struggling Americans, this sounds like manna from heaven, but the prospects are dim that lawmakers—concerned about huge budget deficits—will approve the proposal. The scheme would likely increase federal spending, push up borrowing costs, and possibly drive prices higher by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

A further proposed solution for affordability involved creating half-century home loans, with the notion that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. But, reality is that 50-year mortgages would do little to lower monthly payments—frequently reducing them by just $100 or $200 per month. The drawback is that these loans could significantly increase the total interest homeowners pay and slow building home value.

Blaming the Past Government and Financial Outlook

As part of their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have once more blamed Biden for financial challenges, including rising prices. Spokespeople claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “addressing Biden’s inflation.” These are absurd and untruthful claims. In reality, Biden handed over a robust economic situation, with inflation way down, solid expansion, and minimal joblessness. However, the current administration’s actions—particularly import taxes—have created an economic mess, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi worries that if large states such as California and New York tumble into recession, the nation could slide into a broad economic slump. In downturns, consumers generally possess less money to spend, and inflation usually declines. Sadly, with the highly-touted affordability campaign likely to do little to control costs, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might end up pushing the nation into recession—a scenario that hard-pressed households cannot handle.