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Throughout the previous race for the White House, Donald Trump courted voters with promises to lower costs immediately upon taking office. But, after his inauguration, he seemed to pay minimal attention to the cost of living. This shifted following price-fatigued voters expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration initiated a slapdash effort to address affordability. Unfortunately, the drive has proven a hot mess—filled with absurdity, contradictions, magical thinking, scapegoating, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Out-of-Touch Assertions and Grocery Store Reality

Just two days post-election, the president kicked off his affordability drive with a poorly received remark: “Food prices are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from the wealthy leader—often mingles with fellow billionaires—revealed a lack of empathy for millions of Americans facing difficulties when visiting supermarkets. Essentially, he dismissed their concerns as unimportant, suggesting they were mistaken about price levels.

His assertion about declining prices proved highly misleading and inaccurate. How could all costs be falling when the taxes he imposed were increasing costs? Official statistics show the cost of bananas rose 6.9% over the past year, the price of beef climbed almost 15%, and coffee prices jumped by nearly 19%—in part due to import taxes applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, costs increased in five of the six main grocery groups tracked by the government’s price index, such as meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Financial Statements

Despite these numbers, Trump continues to push his misleading narrative about lower costs. Since election day, he has stated there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” Such remarks contradict the reality that prices overall have unarguably risen after the previous administration. Currently, 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, he boasted that fuel costs had fallen to around two dollars, even though official data indicate they average $3.19.

Faced with actual conditions and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides evidently warned that his “costs are falling” rhetoric made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. A lot of voters are frustrated about rising costs following promises of reductions. As a result, advisers suggested one quick fix: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move contradicted Trump’s absurd assertion that additional taxes would not increase costs for American shoppers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Potential Impact

With some tariffs reduced on several food items, Trump will likely announce that he has cut prices once these products start declining in price. This would be like an arsonist taking credit for putting out a blaze that he had started. On another occasion, while speaking fast-food leaders, he declared that “this is the peak period of America” and assured listeners that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” Such statements are easy for a billionaire to make, but they ring hollow to millions of Americans facing hardships—particularly when millions face cuts to nutrition assistance or skyrocketing health premiums.

According to a recent poll conducted last fall, 74% of Americans think economic conditions are mediocre or bad, while only 26% consider them positive. A separate survey showed that 61% of Americans say the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Reality and Proposed Measures

The treasury secretary, Trump’s chief financial officer, recently contradicted claims of a prosperous era. He stated that far from booming, some parts of the US economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—a priority for the administration—appears to have contracted for eight months in a row and lost around tens of thousands of positions since January. Pointing to this weakness, Bessent called on the central bank to cut interest rates—an action that could help affordability.

Reacting to widespread concern about living costs, the president proposed a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “the wealthy.” For many households in need, this sounds like manna from heaven, but the prospects are dim that lawmakers—already alarmed about large shortfalls—will approve the proposal. The scheme would likely raise government expenditure, push up interest rates, and possibly drive prices higher by putting more money into the economy.

A further 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 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—often cutting them by a small amount each month. The drawback is that these mortgages could significantly increase the total interest borrowers pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Past Government and Economic Outlook

As part of their cost-cutting effort, the administration have again pointed fingers at Biden for financial challenges, such as increasing costs. Spokespeople claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “addressing Biden’s inflation.” These are absurd and untruthful claims. Actually, the former president left a robust economic situation, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. However, the current administration’s actions—particularly his tariffs—have resulted in an difficult situation, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

Per Mark Zandi, chief economist at a research firm, numerous regions are already in recession, with their conditions worsened 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 broad economic slump. During recessions, consumers generally possess 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 end up pushing the nation into recession—something that hard-pressed households cannot handle.