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Throughout last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump wooed voters with pledges to lower costs starting on day one. However, after he assumed office, he seemed to pay precious little attention to affordability issues. All that changed following price-fatigued voters delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration initiated a hastily assembled campaign to address affordability. Unfortunately, this initiative is a hot mess—filled with absurdity, contradictions, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Supermarket Reality

Merely 48 hours post-election, the president kicked off his cost-reduction push 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—often associates with fellow billionaires—revealed a lack of empathy for millions of Americans facing difficulties every time they go supermarkets. In effect, he ignored their struggles as unimportant, implying they were mistaken about actual costs.

His assertion about declining prices proved absurdly obtuse and inaccurate. In what way could all costs be falling when the taxes he imposed were pushing up prices? Recent data indicate banana prices rose 6.9% over the past year, the price of beef went up 14.7%, and the cost of coffee jumped by nearly 19%—partly because of import taxes on Brazil’s coffee and beef. Between January and September, costs increased in the majority of food categories monitored by the Consumer Price Index, including meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Economic Claims

Despite these numbers, the president continues to push his misleading narrative about lower costs. After the vote, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” Such remarks contradict the reality that general costs have unarguably risen since Biden left office. Currently, price growth is at a 3% annual rate, that’s 50% higher than the central bank’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, he boasted that gas prices had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, 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 voters are angry about prices continuing to climb after assurances of decreases. As a result, advisers proposed a simple solution: roll back some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea contradicted the president’s unrealistic claim that additional taxes would not increase costs for American shoppers.

Suggested Solutions and Their Potential Effects

As some tariffs being rolled back on several food items, Trump will likely announce that he has lowered costs once these products start declining in price. That would be like an arsonist taking credit for extinguishing a blaze that he ignited. On another occasion, while speaking fast-food leaders, he declared 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 come naturally for a billionaire to make, but they ring hollow to millions of Americans who are struggling—particularly when millions risk losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

According to a survey from October, three-quarters of respondents think the state of the economy are fair or poor, while just a quarter consider them good or excellent. Another poll found that a majority of citizens say Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Reality and Proposed Steps

Scott Bessent, the president’s top economic official, recently disputed assertions of a golden age. He noted that instead of thriving, some parts of the US economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for eight months in a row and shed around tens of thousands of positions since January. Citing this weakness, the secretary urged the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could help affordability.

In response to public dismay about affordability, the president suggested a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” To numerous struggling Americans, it seems like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that Congress—concerned about large shortfalls—will enact the proposal. This idea could raise government expenditure, increase interest rates, and possibly fuel inflation by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

A further supposed fix for cost issues centered on introducing half-century home loans, based on the idea that this would lower housing costs. However, the truth is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—often reducing them by a small amount per month. The drawback is that these loans could more than double the total interest borrowers pay and hinder building home value.

Faulting the Past Government and Financial Outlook

In their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have again blamed the previous president for financial challenges, such as increasing costs. Officials claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is unfounded and inaccurate claims. In reality, the former president handed over a robust economic situation, with low price growth, solid expansion, and unemployment low. However, Trump’s policies—especially import taxes—have resulted in an economic mess, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

Per Mark Zandi, chief economist at a research firm, 22 states are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. He worries that if key regions such as major economies enter a downturn, the nation could face a widespread recession. During recessions, people typically have reduced funds to spend, and price increases often falls. Unfortunately, given the highly-touted cost initiative probably ineffective to hold down prices, his most effective “tool” for improving living standards might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—a scenario that hard-pressed households cannot handle.