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During last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump wooed voters with promises to lower prices immediately upon taking office. But, after his inauguration, he seemed to pay minimal focus to the cost of living. All that changed after inflation-weary voters expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Within days, the Trump administration initiated a slapdash campaign to tackle affordability. Regrettably, the drive is a hot mess—filled with absurdity, contradictions, magical thinking, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Supermarket Reality

Merely 48 hours after the election, the president began his cost-reduction push with a poorly received remark: “Our groceries are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” These words from the wealthy leader—who frequently associates with fellow billionaires—revealed utter contempt for millions of Americans facing difficulties when visiting supermarkets. In effect, he dismissed their concerns as unimportant, implying they were mistaken about price levels.

His assertion that everything was “way down” was highly misleading and dishonest. How could every price be falling when his cherished tariffs were pushing up costs? Official statistics show the cost of bananas rose 6.9% over the past year, beef prices climbed almost 15%, and coffee prices jumped 18.9%—in part due to import taxes on Brazil’s coffee and beef. In the first three quarters, costs increased in five of the six main grocery groups monitored by the government’s price index, including animal proteins (rising over 4%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and produce (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Economic Statements

In spite of the evidence, Trump continues to push his misleading narrative about lower costs. Since election day, he has stated there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks contradict the fact that general costs have clearly increased after the previous administration. At present, inflation is running at a 3% annual rate, which is half again as much than the central bank’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, he claimed that fuel costs had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, despite official data indicate they are over three dollars.

Confronted by reality and lower approval ratings, advisers apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” rhetoric made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. A lot of voters are angry about prices continuing to climb after promises of decreases. In response, advisers proposed a simple solution: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs would not increase costs for American shoppers.

Suggested Solutions and Their Possible Impact

With some tariffs being rolled back on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will likely announce that he has cut prices once those foods start declining in price. That would be similar to a firestarter taking credit for putting out a fire that he ignited. On another occasion, while speaking fast-food leaders, he stated that “we are in the golden age of America” and told the audience that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” Such statements are easy for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to countless households facing hardships—especially when many risk cuts to nutrition assistance or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a recent poll from October, three-quarters of respondents think economic conditions are mediocre or bad, while just a quarter rate them positive. Another poll showed that 61% of Americans say the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Truth and Proposed Measures

The treasury secretary, the president’s chief financial officer, lately contradicted claims of a golden age. He noted that instead of thriving, some parts of the American economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—a priority for the administration—appears to have contracted for eight months in a row and shed approximately tens of thousands of positions since January. Pointing to these challenges, Bessent called on the central bank to cut interest rates—an action that could ease financial pressure.

Reacting to public dismay about affordability, the president proposed a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “the wealthy.” For many struggling Americans, this sounds like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will approve the proposal. This idea would likely increase federal spending, increase interest rates, and potentially fuel inflation by injecting cash into the economy.

Another proposed solution for affordability involved creating 50-year mortgages, with the notion that this would lower housing costs. However, the truth is that such lengthy loans would do little to lower monthly payments—frequently reducing them by a small amount per month. The downside is that these loans could more than double the overall cost borrowers pay and slow building home value.

Blaming the Past Government and Financial Prospects

As part of their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have again pointed fingers at the previous president for financial challenges, including rising prices. Spokespeople claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is absurd and untruthful claims. In reality, Biden left a strong economy, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. However, Trump’s policies—especially his tariffs—have resulted in an difficult situation, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

Per Mark Zandi, lead analyst at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if large states like California and New York enter a downturn, the nation could face a broad economic slump. In downturns, consumers generally possess reduced funds to spend, and price increases often falls. Unfortunately, with the highly-touted cost initiative likely to do little to control costs, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—a scenario that struggling Americans cannot handle.