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Throughout last year's race for the White House, the former president courted the electorate with promises to reduce prices immediately upon taking office. But, once his inauguration, he seemed to pay minimal focus to the cost of living. This shifted following inflation-weary voters delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Within days, his team launched a hastily assembled effort to tackle affordability. Regrettably, this initiative is a hot mess—filled with absurdity, contradictions, magical thinking, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Supermarket Truth

Just two days after the election, Trump kicked off his cost-reduction push with a poorly received statement: “Food prices are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” These words from the wealthy leader—often associates with other ultra-rich individuals—demonstrated utter contempt for millions of Americans facing difficulties when visiting the grocery store. Essentially, he dismissed their struggles as trivial, suggesting they had it wrong about actual costs.

This statement that everything was “way down” proved highly misleading and inaccurate. How could all costs be falling when his cherished tariffs were pushing up costs? Official statistics indicate banana prices rose 6.9% over the past year, beef prices went up almost 15%, and the cost of coffee jumped 18.9%—partly because of 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 Consumer Price Index, including meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and fruits and vegetables (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Economic Claims

In spite of the evidence, the president continues to push his misleading narrative about affordability. Since election day, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “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. Currently, inflation is at a 3% annual rate, that’s 50% higher than the central bank’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, he boasted that gas prices had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, despite official data indicate they average $3.19.

Confronted by actual conditions and lower approval ratings, some Trump aides apparently warned that his “prices are down” rhetoric portrayed him as disconnected from typical Americans. Many citizens are angry about prices continuing to climb following assurances of reductions. In response, advisers suggested one quick fix: reduce certain import taxes. This sensible idea contradicted Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs would not increase costs for US consumers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Potential Impact

With certain taxes being rolled back on several food items, the administration will likely claim that he has lowered costs once these products start declining in price. This would be similar to a firestarter boasting for putting out a fire that he ignited. On another occasion, when addressing fast-food leaders, he stated that “we are in the peak period of America” and assured the audience that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” Such statements are easy 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.

According to a survey from October, 74% of Americans think the state of the economy are fair or poor, while only 26% rate them good or excellent. A separate survey found that a majority of citizens feel Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Truth and Suggested Steps

The treasury secretary, Trump’s top economic official, lately disputed claims of a golden age. He noted that instead of thriving, certain sectors of the American economy “have contracted.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and lost around tens of thousands of positions this year. Pointing to this weakness, Bessent called on the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could ease financial pressure.

Reacting to widespread concern about affordability, Trump proposed a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “the wealthy.” To numerous households in need, it seems like a financial lifeline, but the prospects are dim that Congress—concerned about large shortfalls—will approve the proposal. This idea would likely raise government expenditure, push up interest rates, and possibly drive prices higher by injecting cash into the economy.

Another supposed fix for affordability centered on introducing 50-year mortgages, with the notion that they could lower housing costs. But, reality is that such lengthy loans have minimal impact to reduce installments—frequently reducing them by a small amount per month. The drawback is that these loans could significantly increase the total interest homeowners pay and slow building home value.

Faulting the Past Government and Economic Prospects

As part of their affordability campaign, the administration have once more pointed fingers at the previous president for economic problems, such as rising prices. Officials claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” This is unfounded and untruthful claims. In reality, Biden left a strong economy, with low price growth, solid expansion, and unemployment low. But, Trump’s policies—particularly import taxes—have created an economic mess, pushing up prices and slowing GDP growth.

According to an economist, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if key regions like California and New York tumble into recession, the nation could slide into a broad economic slump. During recessions, consumers generally possess reduced funds to spend, and inflation usually declines. Sadly, with the highly-touted cost initiative likely to do little to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.