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During last year's presidential campaign, Donald Trump wooed voters with pledges to lower costs immediately upon taking office. However, after he assumed office, he seemed to pay minimal focus to affordability issues. All that changed after price-fatigued voters expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Within days, the Trump administration initiated a slapdash effort to tackle affordability. Unfortunately, this initiative has proven a disorganized endeavor—filled with absurdity, contradictions, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Grocery Store Reality

Just two days after the election, the president began his affordability drive with a disastrous remark: “Food prices are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about the cost of living.” This comment from billionaire Trump—who frequently mingles with fellow billionaires—demonstrated utter contempt for everyday citizens facing difficulties every time they go supermarkets. Essentially, he ignored their struggles as unimportant, implying they had it wrong about actual costs.

His assertion that everything was “way down” was highly misleading and dishonest. How could every price be decreasing when the taxes he imposed were increasing costs? Official statistics show banana prices increased 6.9% over the past year, beef prices climbed almost 15%, and the cost of coffee jumped by nearly 19%—in part because of punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. Between January and September, costs increased in the majority of food categories monitored by the government’s price index, including meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Economic Claims

Despite these numbers, the president persists in repeating his misleading narrative about affordability. Since election day, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” insisted “prices are way down,” and argued “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” These statements ignore the fact that prices overall have unarguably risen after the previous administration. At present, inflation is running at a 3 percent per year, which is 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump boasted that fuel costs had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, despite government figures show they average over three dollars.

Confronted by reality and declining opinion polls, advisers apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” rhetoric made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many voters are angry about prices continuing to climb after promises of reductions. As a result, advisers suggested one quick fix: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move contradicted the president’s unrealistic claim that additional taxes wouldn’t raise prices for US consumers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Possible Impact

With certain taxes being rolled back on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, Trump will likely claim that he has cut prices once these products start declining in price. That would be like an arsonist taking credit for putting out a fire that he had started. In another instance, when addressing fast-food leaders, he declared that “we are in the peak period of America” and told the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but they ring hollow to countless households who are struggling—particularly when many risk cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

According to a survey from October, three-quarters of respondents think economic conditions are mediocre or bad, while just a quarter consider them good or excellent. Another poll showed that a majority of citizens feel the administration’s actions have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Financial Truth and Proposed Measures

Scott Bessent, the president’s top economic official, lately disputed assertions of a golden age. He stated that instead of thriving, certain sectors of the US economy “have contracted.” The manufacturing sector—which Trump vowed to save—appears to have contracted for eight months in a row and shed approximately tens of thousands of positions this year. Citing these challenges, Bessent urged the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could help affordability.

Reacting to widespread concern about living costs, the president proposed 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 a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that Congress—concerned about huge budget deficits—will enact such a plan. The scheme could increase federal spending, push up borrowing costs, and possibly fuel inflation by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

A further proposed solution for affordability centered on introducing half-century home loans, with the notion that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, reality is that such lengthy loans would do little to lower monthly payments—frequently reducing them by a small amount each month. The downside is that these mortgages could more than double the total interest borrowers pay and slow building home value.

Faulting the Past Government and Economic Prospects

As part of their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have once more pointed fingers at Biden for economic problems, including rising prices. Spokespeople claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” This is unfounded and inaccurate claims. Actually, Biden left a strong economy, with inflation way down, solid expansion, and unemployment low. However, Trump’s policies—particularly his tariffs—have resulted in an economic mess, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

Per an economist, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if key regions such as major economies enter a downturn, the nation could slide into a broad economic slump. During recessions, consumers typically have reduced funds to spend, and inflation usually declines. Sadly, with the highly-touted affordability campaign likely to do little to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might end up pushing the nation into recession—something that struggling Americans cannot handle.