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Throughout last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump courted the electorate with promises to lower costs starting on day one. However, after his inauguration, he seemed to pay minimal attention to affordability issues. This shifted after price-fatigued voters delivered a rebuke at the polls. Within days, his team initiated a slapdash campaign to tackle affordability. Regrettably, the drive is a hot mess—characterized by illogical claims, inconsistencies, magical thinking, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Detached Claims and Grocery Store Truth

Merely 48 hours after the election, Trump kicked off his cost-reduction push with a disastrous statement: “Our groceries are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” These words from billionaire Trump—who frequently mingles with other ultra-rich individuals—demonstrated utter contempt for everyday citizens facing difficulties when visiting the grocery store. In effect, he dismissed their struggles as unimportant, suggesting they were mistaken about actual costs.

This statement that everything was “way down” was highly misleading and inaccurate. How could every price be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were increasing costs? 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 surged 18.9%—in part because of punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, costs increased in five of the six food categories tracked by the government’s price index, including meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and produce (rising slightly).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Financial Statements

Despite these numbers, Trump persists in repeating his misleading narrative about affordability. Since election day, he has claimed there is “virtually no inflation,” insisted “prices are way down,” and asserted “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements ignore the fact that general costs have unarguably risen since Biden left office. At present, price growth is at a 3% annual rate, which is half again as much than the central bank’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, he claimed that gas prices had fallen to around two dollars, even though government figures indicate they are $3.19.

Confronted by actual conditions and lower approval ratings, advisers apparently cautioned that his “costs are falling” rhetoric portrayed him as disconnected from ordinary people. A lot of citizens are angry about rising costs following promises of decreases. In response, advisers proposed a simple solution: roll back certain import taxes. This sensible idea clashed with the president’s unrealistic claim that additional taxes wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Potential Impact

With some tariffs reduced on several food items, the administration will likely claim that he has cut prices once these products 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 golden age of America” and assured 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 facing hardships—particularly when many risk cuts to nutrition assistance or skyrocketing health premiums.

According to a recent poll conducted last fall, 74% of Americans believe the state of the economy are fair or poor, while just a quarter rate them positive. A separate survey showed that a majority of citizens feel the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Reality and Proposed Measures

Scott Bessent, Trump’s top economic official, recently disputed assertions of a golden age. He noted that instead of thriving, some parts of the American economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and shed around tens of thousands of positions this year. Citing this weakness, the secretary called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—a move that could ease financial pressure.

In response to widespread concern about affordability, the president proposed a cash handout 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—concerned about large shortfalls—will approve the proposal. This idea would likely raise government expenditure, increase interest rates, and potentially fuel inflation by injecting cash into consumers’ pockets.

A further proposed solution for affordability centered on creating 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, the truth is that 50-year mortgages would do little 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 homeowners pay and hinder building home value.

Faulting the Past Government and Economic Outlook

As part of their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have once more blamed the previous president for financial challenges, such as rising prices. Officials claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “addressing Biden’s inflation.” This is unfounded and inaccurate allegations. Actually, Biden left a strong economy, with inflation way down, solid expansion, and unemployment low. However, Trump’s policies—particularly import taxes—have resulted in an economic mess, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

Per an economist, chief economist at a research firm, numerous regions are experiencing economic decline, with their economies damaged by the administration’s trade policies. Zandi fears that if large states such as California and New York enter a downturn, the US could slide into a widespread recession. In downturns, consumers typically have less money to spend, and price increases often falls. Unfortunately, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed cost initiative probably ineffective to hold down prices, his primary method for improving living standards might end up triggering an economic contraction—something that struggling Americans really can’t afford.