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During the previous presidential campaign, Donald Trump courted voters with promises to reduce costs starting on day one. However, once he assumed office, he seemed to pay precious little attention to affordability issues. All that changed after inflation-weary voters delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, his team launched a slapdash campaign to address affordability. Unfortunately, the drive is a disorganized endeavor—filled with absurdity, inconsistencies, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Grocery Store Reality

Just two days post-election, the president kicked off his cost-reduction push with a disastrous 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—often associates with fellow billionaires—demonstrated a lack of empathy for everyday citizens who struggle when visiting the grocery store. In effect, he ignored their concerns as trivial, implying they had it wrong about actual costs.

This statement that everything was “way down” proved highly misleading and inaccurate. In what way could all costs be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were pushing up costs? Recent data show banana prices increased 6.9% over the past year, the price of beef climbed 14.7%, and the cost of coffee jumped by nearly 19%—partly due to punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. In the first three quarters, prices rose in five of the six food categories monitored by the Consumer Price Index, including meats, poultry, and fish (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Economic Claims

In spite of the evidence, the president continues to push his big lie about lower costs. Since election day, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “prices are way down,” and argued “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks contradict the fact that general costs have clearly increased after the previous administration. At present, inflation is at a 3 percent per year, that’s half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump boasted that fuel costs had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, despite government figures indicate they are over three dollars.

Faced with actual conditions and lower approval ratings, some Trump aides apparently warned that his “costs are falling” rhetoric portrayed him as disconnected from ordinary people. Many voters are frustrated about rising costs following assurances of reductions. In response, advisers suggested one quick fix: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for US consumers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Possible Impact

As some tariffs reduced on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, Trump will likely announce that he has cut prices once these products begin to fall in price. That would be like an arsonist boasting for putting out a blaze that he ignited. In another instance, while speaking McDonald’s executives, he stated that “this is the golden age of America” and told listeners that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans who are struggling—particularly when many risk losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

According to a recent poll from October, 74% of Americans think economic conditions are mediocre or bad, while only 26% rate them positive. A separate survey showed that a majority of citizens say Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Economic Reality and Suggested Measures

Scott Bessent, the president’s top economic official, recently disputed assertions of a golden age. He noted that far from booming, certain sectors of the American economy “are in recession.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for eight months in a row and lost approximately 33,000 jobs this year. Citing these challenges, the secretary urged the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could ease financial pressure.

Reacting to widespread concern about living costs, Trump suggested a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “the wealthy.” To numerous struggling Americans, it seems like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that Congress—concerned about large shortfalls—will approve the proposal. The scheme would likely increase federal spending, increase borrowing costs, and potentially fuel inflation by putting more money into the economy.

A further supposed fix for affordability involved creating half-century home loans, with the notion that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. But, reality is that 50-year mortgages would do little to lower monthly payments—frequently reducing them by just $100 or $200 each month. The drawback is that these loans could significantly increase the overall cost borrowers pay and slow building home value.

Blaming the Past Government and Financial Outlook

In their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have once more pointed fingers at the previous president for economic problems, including rising prices. Spokespeople claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “addressing 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 minimal joblessness. But, the current administration’s actions—especially import taxes—have created an economic mess, pushing up prices and slowing GDP growth.

Per Mark Zandi, chief economist at a research firm, numerous regions are already in recession, with their economies damaged by the administration’s trade policies. Zandi fears that if key regions like California and New York tumble into recession, the nation could face a broad economic slump. During recessions, people generally possess less money to spend, and price increases often falls. Sadly, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed cost initiative likely to do little to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—a scenario that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.