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Throughout last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump wooed the electorate with promises to reduce costs immediately upon taking office. However, after his inauguration, there was precious little attention to affordability issues. All that changed after inflation-weary citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Within days, his team initiated a slapdash effort to tackle affordability. Unfortunately, the drive has proven a disorganized endeavor—characterized by illogical claims, inconsistencies, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Detached Assertions and Grocery Store Truth

Merely 48 hours post-election, Trump began his affordability drive with a poorly received statement: “Food prices are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” These words from the wealthy leader—often mingles with other ultra-rich individuals—demonstrated utter contempt for everyday citizens facing difficulties every time they go supermarkets. In effect, he dismissed their struggles as unimportant, suggesting they were mistaken about actual costs.

This statement about declining prices proved absurdly obtuse and inaccurate. In what way could every price be falling when the taxes he imposed were increasing costs? Recent data show banana prices increased nearly 7% in the last twelve months, beef prices went up 14.7%, and the cost of coffee surged by nearly 19%—in part due to punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. Between January and September, prices rose in five of the six food categories monitored by the Consumer Price Index, including meats, poultry, and fish (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and produce (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Financial Claims

Despite the evidence, Trump continues to push his misleading narrative about lower costs. After the vote, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements contradict the reality that general costs have clearly increased since Biden left office. Currently, inflation is running at a 3 percent per year, that’s 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, Trump boasted that fuel costs had dropped to around two dollars, even though government figures show they average $3.19.

Faced with actual conditions and lower approval ratings, some Trump aides apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” rhetoric portrayed him as disconnected from ordinary people. A lot of citizens are frustrated about prices continuing to climb after promises of reductions. In response, aides proposed a simple solution: roll back certain import taxes. The logical move contradicted the president’s unrealistic claim that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for US consumers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Potential Impact

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 similar to a firestarter boasting for putting out a fire that he had started. In another instance, when addressing fast-food leaders, he declared that “this is the golden age of America” and assured the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans facing hardships—especially when millions face losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

According to a recent poll conducted last fall, 74% of Americans believe economic conditions are fair or poor, while just a quarter rate them positive. A separate survey found that a majority of citizens say Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Reality and Proposed Steps

The treasury secretary, Trump’s top economic official, lately contradicted claims of a golden age. He noted that far from booming, some parts of the American economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—appears to have contracted for eight months in a row and shed around tens of thousands of positions since January. Citing these challenges, Bessent called on the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could help affordability.

In response to public dismay about living costs, Trump suggested a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” For many households in need, it seems like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that Congress—concerned about huge budget deficits—will approve the proposal. The scheme could increase federal spending, push up interest rates, and possibly fuel inflation by putting more money into the economy.

Another proposed solution for affordability centered on introducing half-century home loans, based on the idea that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, the truth is that such lengthy loans have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—often cutting them by a small amount per month. The downside is that these mortgages could more than double the overall cost borrowers pay and hinder building home value.

Blaming the Previous Administration and Economic Outlook

As part of their affordability campaign, the administration have once more pointed fingers at Biden for financial challenges, such as rising prices. Officials claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” This is unfounded and untruthful claims. In reality, Biden handed over a robust economic situation, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. But, the current administration’s actions—particularly import taxes—have resulted in an difficult situation, pushing up prices and slowing GDP growth.

According to Mark Zandi, lead analyst at a research firm, 22 states are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. He worries that if large states like California and New York tumble into recession, the nation could face a broad economic slump. During recessions, consumers generally possess reduced funds to spend, and inflation often falls. Sadly, with the highly-touted cost initiative likely to do little 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.