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Throughout last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump wooed the electorate with promises to reduce costs immediately upon taking office. But, once he assumed office, there was precious little attention to the cost of living. All that changed after price-fatigued citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Within days, his team initiated a hastily assembled campaign to tackle living costs. Regrettably, the drive has proven a hot mess—filled with absurdity, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Detached Claims 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. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from the wealthy leader—who frequently mingles with fellow billionaires—revealed a lack of empathy for millions of Americans facing difficulties when visiting the grocery store. Essentially, he dismissed their concerns as unimportant, suggesting they were mistaken about actual costs.

This statement about declining prices proved absurdly obtuse and dishonest. How could all costs be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were pushing up prices? Recent data show the cost of bananas rose nearly 7% over the past year, beef prices climbed 14.7%, and coffee prices jumped by nearly 19%—partly because of punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, costs increased in five of the six food categories monitored by the government’s price index, such as animal proteins (rising over 4%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Financial Claims

In spite of these numbers, the president persists in repeating his misleading narrative about affordability. After the vote, he has stated there is “almost no price increases,” declared “prices are way down,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements ignore the fact that general costs have unarguably risen after the previous administration. At present, price growth is at a 3 percent per year, that’s half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, Trump claimed that gas prices had dropped to around two dollars, even though government figures show they are $3.19.

Confronted by reality and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides evidently cautioned that his “prices are down” rhetoric portrayed him as disconnected from ordinary people. Many voters are frustrated about prices continuing to climb after assurances of reductions. In response, aides suggested one quick fix: roll back some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea contradicted the president’s unrealistic claim that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Suggested Solutions and Their Potential Effects

With some tariffs being rolled back on several food items, Trump will likely announce that he has lowered costs once those foods start declining in price. That would be similar to a firestarter boasting for extinguishing a fire that he had started. On another occasion, while speaking McDonald’s executives, he stated that “this is the peak period of America” and told listeners that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” These comments come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans facing hardships—especially when many risk cuts to nutrition assistance or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a recent poll conducted last fall, 74% of Americans believe economic conditions are mediocre or bad, while only 26% rate them good or excellent. A separate survey showed that 61% of Americans feel the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Reality and Suggested Steps

Scott Bessent, the president’s chief financial officer, lately contradicted assertions of a golden age. He noted that instead of thriving, certain sectors of the US economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—appears to have contracted for eight months in a row and lost around 33,000 jobs since January. Pointing to these challenges, Bessent urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—a move that could ease financial pressure.

In response to widespread concern about affordability, the president suggested a cash handout of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “the wealthy.” For many households in need, this sounds like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that Congress—concerned about large shortfalls—will enact the proposal. This idea would likely increase federal spending, increase borrowing costs, and potentially drive prices higher by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

Another supposed fix for affordability centered on creating half-century home loans, based on the idea that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, reality is that such lengthy loans have minimal impact to reduce installments—often reducing them by a small amount each month. The downside is that these mortgages could significantly increase the total interest homeowners pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Past Government and Economic Outlook

In their affordability campaign, the administration have again pointed fingers at the previous president for financial challenges, such as increasing costs. Officials claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are absurd and untruthful claims. Actually, Biden handed over a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. However, Trump’s policies—especially his tariffs—have created an economic mess, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, numerous regions are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. Zandi fears that if large states like California and New York enter a downturn, the US could slide into a widespread recession. In downturns, people typically have less money to spend, and inflation usually declines. Unfortunately, given the highly-touted affordability campaign likely to do little to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—a scenario that hard-pressed households cannot handle.