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Throughout last year's race for the White House, the former president wooed voters with promises to reduce costs starting on day one. However, once he assumed office, there was precious little attention to affordability issues. All that changed after inflation-weary citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration launched a hastily assembled effort to tackle living costs. Unfortunately, this initiative has proven a hot mess—filled with illogical claims, inconsistencies, magical thinking, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Assertions and Supermarket Truth

Just two days post-election, Trump kicked off his cost-reduction push with a poorly received statement: “Our groceries are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about the cost of living.” This comment from billionaire Trump—who frequently associates with other ultra-rich individuals—demonstrated a lack of empathy for millions of Americans facing difficulties every time they go supermarkets. Essentially, he ignored their concerns as unimportant, suggesting they were mistaken about actual costs.

This statement about declining prices was absurdly obtuse and dishonest. In what way could all costs be falling when the taxes he imposed were increasing prices? Recent data show banana prices rose 6.9% over the past year, beef prices went up almost 15%, and coffee prices surged 18.9%—partly due to punitive tariffs 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, such as animal proteins (rising over 4%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Financial Statements

In spite of the evidence, Trump continues to push his big lie about affordability. 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.” Such remarks contradict the reality that general costs have clearly increased since Biden left office. Currently, inflation is running at a 3 percent per year, which is 50% higher than the central bank’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, he claimed that fuel costs had fallen to around two dollars, even though government figures indicate they are $3.19.

Faced with reality and lower approval ratings, some Trump aides evidently warned that his “prices are down” message portrayed him as dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many citizens are angry about rising costs after promises of reductions. In response, aides proposed one quick fix: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Possible Impact

As certain taxes being rolled back on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, Trump will probably announce that he has cut prices once those foods begin to fall in price. That would be similar to a firestarter taking credit for putting out a blaze that he had started. In another instance, when addressing fast-food leaders, Trump declared that “we are in the peak period of America” and told the audience that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans who are struggling—especially when millions face cuts to nutrition assistance or skyrocketing health premiums.

According to a recent poll from October, 74% of Americans think the state of the economy are fair or poor, while only 26% rate them positive. A separate survey found that a majority of citizens feel the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Truth and Suggested Steps

The treasury secretary, the president’s top economic official, lately contradicted assertions of a prosperous era. He noted that far from booming, certain sectors of the US economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and lost approximately tens of thousands of positions since January. Citing this weakness, Bessent called on the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could ease financial pressure.

In response to widespread concern about living costs, Trump proposed a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” For many households in need, this sounds like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that Congress—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will approve such a plan. This idea would likely increase federal spending, increase borrowing costs, and potentially fuel inflation by injecting cash into consumers’ pockets.

A further proposed solution for affordability centered on creating half-century home loans, with the notion that this would lower housing costs. But, the truth is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—often cutting them by just $100 or $200 per month. The downside is that these mortgages could more than double the total interest homeowners pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Economic Outlook

As part of their affordability campaign, the administration have once more blamed Biden for economic problems, such as rising prices. Spokespeople claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are absurd and inaccurate claims. In reality, Biden handed over a strong economy, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. However, Trump’s policies—particularly his tariffs—have created an economic mess, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if key regions like California and New York enter a downturn, the nation could slide into a broad economic slump. During recessions, consumers generally possess less money to spend, and price increases usually declines. Sadly, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign likely to do little to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might prove to be pushing the nation into recession—something that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.