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Throughout last year's race for the White House, the former president courted the electorate with promises to lower costs starting on day one. But, once his inauguration, there was precious little focus to affordability issues. This shifted following inflation-weary citizens delivered a rebuke at the polls. Within days, his team launched a slapdash campaign to address living costs. Unfortunately, this initiative is a disorganized endeavor—filled with illogical claims, contradictions, magical thinking, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Detached Assertions and Grocery Store Reality

Just two days after the election, the president 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 the cost of living.” This comment from the wealthy leader—who frequently associates with other ultra-rich individuals—revealed a lack of empathy for millions of Americans who struggle when visiting supermarkets. In effect, he dismissed their concerns as unimportant, implying they were mistaken about price levels.

His assertion about declining prices proved highly misleading and dishonest. In what way could all costs be decreasing when the taxes he imposed were pushing up costs? Official statistics indicate the cost of bananas increased 6.9% over the past year, beef prices went up almost 15%, and coffee prices surged 18.9%—in part due to punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. In the first three quarters, prices rose in five of the six food categories monitored by the Consumer Price Index, including animal proteins (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (increasing nearly 3%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Financial Statements

In spite of these numbers, Trump continues to push his big lie about lower costs. Since election day, he has stated there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “prices are way down,” and argued “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” Such remarks ignore the fact that general costs have clearly increased since Biden left office. Currently, price growth is at a 3 percent per year, which is 50% higher than the central bank’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, Trump boasted that gas prices had fallen to around two dollars, even though government figures indicate they average $3.19.

Faced with reality and declining opinion polls, advisers apparently warned that his “prices are down” rhetoric portrayed him as disconnected from typical Americans. Many citizens are frustrated about rising costs following promises of reductions. In response, advisers suggested one quick fix: reduce certain import taxes. This sensible idea contradicted the president’s unrealistic claim that additional taxes would not increase costs for US consumers.

Suggested Solutions and Their Potential Effects

As some tariffs reduced on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will probably announce that he has cut prices once those foods start declining in price. That would be like an arsonist boasting for extinguishing a fire that he had started. In another instance, while speaking McDonald’s executives, he stated that “we are in the golden age of America” and assured the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to countless households who are struggling—particularly when millions face cuts to nutrition assistance or skyrocketing health premiums.

According to a survey conducted last fall, 74% of Americans think the state of the economy are fair or poor, while just a quarter consider them positive. A separate survey found that 61% of Americans feel the administration’s actions have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Economic Truth and Proposed Steps

Scott Bessent, the president’s top economic official, lately disputed claims of a prosperous era. He stated that instead of thriving, some parts of the American economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and lost approximately tens of thousands of positions since January. Pointing to this weakness, the secretary called on the central bank to cut interest rates—a move that could ease financial pressure.

Reacting to widespread concern about affordability, the president suggested a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” To numerous households in need, this sounds like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that Congress—concerned about huge budget deficits—will enact such a plan. The scheme would likely increase federal spending, push up borrowing costs, and potentially drive prices higher by putting more money into the economy.

A further supposed fix for affordability involved creating 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that this would lower housing costs. However, reality is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to reduce installments—frequently cutting them by just $100 or $200 per month. The drawback is that these loans could more than double the total interest borrowers pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Financial Outlook

In their affordability campaign, the administration have once more pointed fingers at the previous president for financial challenges, including rising prices. Officials stated they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” This is unfounded and untruthful allegations. In reality, Biden handed over a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. However, Trump’s policies—particularly his tariffs—have resulted in an difficult situation, pushing up prices and slowing GDP growth.

Per Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. He fears that if key regions such as California and New York enter a downturn, the US could slide into a widespread recession. In downturns, consumers generally possess reduced funds to spend, and inflation often falls. Unfortunately, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed cost initiative probably ineffective to control costs, his most effective “tool” for improving living standards might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—a scenario that hard-pressed households cannot handle.