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Throughout last year's presidential campaign, Donald Trump wooed the electorate 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 citizens delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Within days, his team launched a slapdash campaign to tackle living costs. Regrettably, the drive is a hot mess—filled with illogical claims, contradictions, magical thinking, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Assertions and Supermarket Truth

Merely 48 hours after the election, Trump kicked off his cost-reduction push with a disastrous remark: “Our groceries are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about the cost of living.” These words from billionaire Trump—who frequently associates with other ultra-rich individuals—revealed utter contempt for everyday citizens who struggle when visiting the grocery store. In effect, he ignored their struggles as unimportant, suggesting they had it wrong about actual costs.

His assertion about declining prices was absurdly obtuse and inaccurate. In what way could all costs be decreasing when the taxes he imposed were increasing costs? Official statistics show the cost of bananas increased nearly 7% in the last twelve months, the price of beef went up almost 15%, and the cost of coffee jumped by nearly 19%—partly because of 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, such as animal proteins (rising over 4%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and produce (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Financial Claims

In spite of these numbers, Trump persists in repeating his big lie about affordability. Since election day, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” declared “prices are way down,” and argued “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks ignore the fact that general costs have unarguably risen after the previous administration. Currently, inflation is at a 3 percent per year, which is 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, Trump claimed that gas prices had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, even though government figures indicate they average $3.19.

Confronted by reality and lower approval ratings, some Trump aides apparently warned that his “prices are down” rhetoric made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many voters are frustrated about rising costs after promises of reductions. In response, advisers proposed a simple solution: reduce certain import taxes. The logical move clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that new tariffs would not increase costs for American shoppers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Potential Effects

With certain taxes reduced on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, Trump will probably announce that he has cut prices once those foods begin to fall in price. This would be similar to a firestarter boasting for putting out a fire that he ignited. In another instance, while speaking McDonald’s executives, Trump stated that “this is the golden age of America” and told the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to countless households who are struggling—especially when millions face losing food stamps or rising insurance costs.

According to a survey from October, 74% of Americans think economic conditions are mediocre or bad, while just a quarter rate them positive. A separate survey found that a majority of citizens say the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Reality and Suggested Steps

The treasury secretary, Trump’s chief financial officer, lately disputed claims of a prosperous era. He stated that far from booming, some parts of the US economy “are in recession.” Industrial production—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for eight months in a row and shed around tens of thousands of positions this year. Pointing to these challenges, Bessent called on the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could help affordability.

Reacting to public dismay about living costs, the president proposed a cash handout of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “the wealthy.” To numerous struggling Americans, this sounds like manna from heaven, but the prospects are dim that Congress—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will approve such a plan. This idea could raise government expenditure, push up interest rates, and possibly drive prices higher by injecting cash into the economy.

Another proposed solution for affordability centered on introducing half-century home loans, with the notion that they could lower housing costs. But, the truth is that such lengthy loans would do little to reduce installments—often reducing them by a small amount per month. The downside is that these loans could significantly increase the total interest borrowers pay and slow building home value.

Blaming the Previous Administration and Economic Outlook

As part of their affordability campaign, the administration have again blamed the previous president for financial challenges, including increasing costs. Officials claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” These are unfounded and inaccurate claims. In reality, the former president left a strong economy, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. However, the current administration’s actions—especially his tariffs—have resulted in an economic mess, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at a research firm, numerous regions are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi worries that if large states like California and New York tumble into recession, the nation could slide into a widespread recession. In downturns, consumers typically have less money to spend, and inflation often falls. Sadly, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign probably ineffective to hold down prices, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might end up pushing the nation into recession—a scenario that hard-pressed households cannot handle.