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During last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump courted voters with pledges to lower costs starting on day one. However, after his inauguration, there was minimal focus to the cost of living. All that changed after price-fatigued voters expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Within days, the Trump administration launched a hastily assembled campaign to address affordability. Regrettably, the drive is a hot mess—filled with illogical claims, contradictions, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Supermarket Reality

Merely 48 hours after the election, the president kicked off his affordability drive with a poorly received statement: “Food prices are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from the wealthy leader—often mingles with fellow billionaires—demonstrated utter contempt for everyday citizens facing difficulties when visiting supermarkets. Essentially, he ignored their struggles as trivial, implying they were mistaken about price levels.

His assertion that everything was “way down” was absurdly obtuse and inaccurate. How could all costs be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were increasing prices? Official statistics show the cost of bananas increased nearly 7% in the last twelve months, beef prices climbed almost 15%, and the cost of coffee surged 18.9%—partly because of punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. Between January and September, prices rose in five of the six food categories tracked by the Consumer Price Index, such as meats, poultry, and fish (up 4.5%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Contradictions and Inaccuracies in Economic Statements

In spite of the evidence, the president continues to push his big lie about lower costs. Since election day, he has claimed there is “virtually no inflation,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” Such remarks ignore the reality that prices overall have unarguably risen since Biden left office. Currently, price growth is running at a 3 percent per year, which is 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump claimed that gas prices had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, even though official data show they are over three dollars.

Confronted by actual conditions and lower approval ratings, advisers apparently cautioned that his “costs are falling” rhetoric made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. A lot of citizens are angry about rising costs following promises of decreases. In response, aides suggested a simple solution: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Suggested Solutions and Their Possible Effects

As some tariffs being rolled back on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will probably announce that he has cut prices once those foods begin to fall in price. This would be like an arsonist boasting for putting out a blaze that he had started. In another instance, while speaking fast-food leaders, Trump stated that “this is the golden age of America” and told listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a billionaire to make, but they ring hollow to millions of Americans facing hardships—especially when millions face cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

Per a recent poll conducted last fall, 74% of Americans think economic conditions are fair or poor, while just a quarter consider them positive. A separate survey showed that 61% of Americans feel Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Economic Truth and Suggested Steps

Scott Bessent, Trump’s top economic official, recently disputed assertions of a prosperous era. He noted that instead of thriving, certain sectors of the American economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—appears to have contracted for eight months in a row and shed around 33,000 jobs this year. Pointing to these challenges, Bessent urged the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could help affordability.

Reacting to public dismay about living costs, Trump proposed a cash handout of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” To numerous struggling Americans, this sounds like manna from heaven, but the prospects are dim that lawmakers—already alarmed about large shortfalls—will approve the proposal. This idea could raise government expenditure, push up interest rates, and possibly drive prices higher by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

Another proposed solution for affordability centered on introducing half-century home loans, based on the idea that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, reality is that 50-year mortgages would do little to reduce installments—frequently cutting them by just $100 or $200 per month. The downside is that these loans could significantly increase the overall cost borrowers pay and slow building home value.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Financial Prospects

As part of their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have again blamed Biden for economic problems, including rising prices. Officials claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” These are absurd and inaccurate allegations. Actually, the former president left a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. But, Trump’s policies—particularly import taxes—have resulted in an economic mess, pushing up prices and slowing GDP growth.

According to Mark Zandi, lead analyst at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. He fears that if large states like major economies tumble into recession, the nation could face a widespread recession. In downturns, consumers typically have reduced funds to spend, and inflation often falls. Unfortunately, with the highly-touted cost initiative likely to do little to hold down prices, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might prove to be pushing the nation into recession—something that struggling Americans really can’t afford.