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During the previous presidential campaign, Donald Trump wooed voters with promises to reduce costs immediately upon taking office. But, after he assumed office, he seemed to pay precious little attention to the cost of living. All that changed following price-fatigued citizens delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Within days, the Trump administration launched a slapdash effort to tackle living costs. Regrettably, this initiative has proven a hot mess—characterized by illogical claims, inconsistencies, magical thinking, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Detached Claims and Grocery Store Truth

Merely 48 hours post-election, the president kicked off 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 billionaire Trump—often associates with other ultra-rich individuals—demonstrated a lack of empathy for millions of Americans facing difficulties when visiting the grocery store. In effect, he ignored their concerns as trivial, implying they had it wrong about actual costs.

This statement about declining prices was highly misleading and dishonest. How could every price be decreasing when the taxes he imposed were pushing up prices? Recent data show banana prices increased 6.9% over the past year, beef prices went up 14.7%, and the cost of coffee surged by nearly 19%—partly due to punitive tariffs 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, such as meats, poultry, and fish (up 4.5%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (rising slightly).

Contradictions and Inaccuracies in Financial Claims

In spite of these numbers, Trump persists in repeating his misleading narrative about affordability. Since election day, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and asserted “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” These statements ignore the reality that general costs have unarguably risen since Biden left office. At present, inflation is running at a 3 percent per year, which is 50% higher than the central bank’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, Trump boasted that gas prices had dropped to around two dollars, even though government figures show they average over three dollars.

Faced with actual conditions and declining opinion polls, advisers apparently warned that his “prices are down” message made him sound dangerously out of touch from typical Americans. Many voters are frustrated about rising costs following promises of decreases. As a result, aides proposed one quick fix: reduce certain import taxes. The logical move clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that additional taxes would not increase costs for American shoppers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Possible Impact

With certain taxes being rolled back on several food items, Trump will likely claim that he has cut prices once those foods begin to fall in price. This would be similar to a firestarter boasting for extinguishing a fire that he had started. In another instance, when addressing McDonald’s executives, he declared that “this is the peak period of America” and assured listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments come naturally for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to countless households who are struggling—especially when millions face cuts to nutrition assistance or skyrocketing health premiums.

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

Economic Truth and Proposed Measures

The treasury secretary, the president’s top economic official, recently contradicted claims of a prosperous era. He noted that far from booming, certain sectors of the American economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for eight months in a row and shed approximately tens of thousands of positions since January. Citing this weakness, Bessent urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—a move that could ease financial pressure.

In response to widespread concern about affordability, Trump proposed a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” For many struggling Americans, it seems like manna from heaven, but the prospects are dim that lawmakers—concerned about huge budget deficits—will approve such a plan. 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 introducing half-century home loans, with the notion that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, the truth is that such lengthy loans have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—frequently cutting them by a small amount per month. The downside is that these mortgages could significantly increase the total interest borrowers pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Financial Outlook

In their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have again blamed Biden for economic problems, such as increasing costs. Officials claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are absurd and untruthful allegations. Actually, the former president handed over a robust economic situation, with inflation way down, solid expansion, and unemployment low. But, Trump’s policies—particularly import taxes—have created an difficult situation, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

Per Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, numerous regions are experiencing economic decline, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if large states like California and New York tumble into recession, the nation could face a broad economic slump. In downturns, consumers typically have reduced funds to spend, and price increases often falls. Sadly, given the highly-touted affordability campaign likely to do little to control costs, his most effective “tool” for improving living standards might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.