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Throughout last year's race for the White House, the former president wooed voters with promises to lower costs starting on day one. But, after he assumed office, he seemed to pay precious little attention to affordability issues. This shifted following price-fatigued citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Within days, his team initiated a slapdash campaign to tackle living costs. Unfortunately, the drive has proven a hot mess—filled with absurdity, inconsistencies, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Detached Assertions and Supermarket Reality

Merely 48 hours after the election, Trump kicked off his affordability drive with a poorly received statement: “Food prices are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about the cost of living.” These words from billionaire Trump—who frequently mingles with other ultra-rich individuals—demonstrated a lack of empathy for everyday citizens who struggle when visiting the grocery store. Essentially, he dismissed their concerns as unimportant, implying they had it wrong about actual costs.

His assertion that everything was “way down” proved highly misleading and dishonest. How could all costs be falling when the taxes he imposed were pushing up costs? Official statistics show banana prices increased 6.9% in the last twelve months, beef prices went up almost 15%, and coffee prices surged 18.9%—in part because of punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. In the first three quarters, costs increased in five of the six food categories tracked by the Consumer Price Index, including meats, poultry, and fish (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and produce (rising slightly).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Financial Statements

In spite of these numbers, the president 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 argued “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” These statements ignore the reality that prices overall have unarguably risen after the previous administration. At present, price growth is at a 3 percent per year, that’s 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump boasted that fuel costs had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, despite official data show they are $3.19.

Confronted by actual conditions and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides evidently warned that his “prices are down” rhetoric portrayed him as disconnected from ordinary people. Many voters are angry about prices continuing to climb after assurances of reductions. As a result, advisers suggested a simple solution: roll back certain import taxes. This sensible idea contradicted the president’s unrealistic claim that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Possible Impact

With some tariffs reduced on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, Trump will likely announce that he has lowered costs once these products begin to fall in price. That would be like an arsonist boasting for putting out a blaze that he had started. On another occasion, when addressing fast-food leaders, Trump declared that “this is the peak period of America” and told listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but they ring hollow to millions of Americans who are struggling—particularly when millions face losing food stamps or rising insurance costs.

Per a survey conducted last fall, 74% of Americans believe the state of the economy are mediocre or bad, while only 26% rate them good or excellent. Another poll showed that a majority of citizens feel Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Financial Truth and Suggested Measures

The treasury secretary, Trump’s chief financial officer, recently contradicted assertions of a golden age. He noted that instead of thriving, certain sectors of the US economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—which Trump vowed to save—appears to have contracted for multiple consecutive months and lost approximately tens of thousands of positions since January. Citing this weakness, Bessent urged the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could help affordability.

Reacting to public dismay about living costs, Trump suggested a cash handout of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” To numerous households in need, it seems like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that Congress—concerned about huge budget deficits—will approve such a plan. This idea could increase federal spending, push up interest rates, and possibly fuel inflation by injecting cash into consumers’ pockets.

A further supposed fix for affordability centered on creating half-century home loans, with the notion that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, the truth is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to reduce installments—often cutting them by just $100 or $200 per month. The downside is that these loans could significantly increase the total interest homeowners pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Past Government and Economic Outlook

As part of their cost-cutting effort, the administration have again blamed the previous president for financial challenges, such as increasing costs. Spokespeople stated they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is absurd and inaccurate allegations. Actually, the former president handed over a strong economy, with low price growth, solid expansion, and unemployment low. But, the current administration’s actions—particularly import taxes—have resulted in an difficult situation, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

According to an economist, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, numerous regions are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if key regions like major economies enter a downturn, the nation could slide into a widespread recession. During recessions, consumers typically have reduced funds to spend, and inflation often falls. Sadly, given the highly-touted affordability campaign probably ineffective to hold down prices, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.