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Throughout last year's race for the White House, the former president courted voters with pledges to lower prices immediately upon taking office. But, after his inauguration, there was precious little focus to the cost of living. This shifted following price-fatigued voters delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Within days, the Trump administration initiated a hastily assembled effort to address affordability. Unfortunately, this initiative is a hot mess—characterized by illogical claims, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Out-of-Touch Assertions and Supermarket Truth

Merely 48 hours post-election, the president began his affordability drive with a poorly received statement: “Our groceries are way down. All items is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from the wealthy leader—often associates with other ultra-rich individuals—revealed a lack of empathy for everyday citizens who struggle every time they go the grocery store. In effect, he ignored their concerns as trivial, suggesting they had it wrong about actual costs.

His assertion about declining prices was 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 nearly 7% over the past year, beef prices went up 14.7%, and coffee prices jumped 18.9%—partly because of punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. Between January and September, costs increased in five of the six main grocery groups monitored by the government’s price index, such as meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), drinks (up 2.8%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Contradictions and Inaccuracies in Financial Claims

Despite the evidence, the president persists in repeating his misleading narrative about affordability. Since election day, he has claimed there is “virtually no inflation,” insisted “prices are way down,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” Such remarks ignore the fact that prices overall have unarguably risen since Biden left office. At present, price growth is running at a 3 percent per year, that’s 50% higher than the central bank’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, he claimed that gas prices had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, even though official data show they are $3.19.

Faced with reality and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides evidently warned that his “prices are down” message made him sound dangerously out of touch from typical Americans. Many voters are frustrated about prices continuing to climb following promises of decreases. In response, aides proposed a simple solution: roll back certain import taxes. The logical move clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that additional taxes would not increase costs for US consumers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Potential Impact

With some tariffs reduced on several food items, Trump will likely claim that he has cut prices once these products start declining in price. That would be similar to a firestarter boasting for extinguishing a fire that he ignited. On another occasion, when addressing fast-food leaders, he declared that “we are in the golden age of America” and told the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements are easy for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to countless households facing hardships—especially when many face losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a recent poll conducted last fall, three-quarters of respondents think the state of the economy are mediocre or bad, while only 26% rate them positive. Another poll showed that 61% of Americans feel Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Reality and Proposed Steps

Scott Bessent, the president’s top economic official, recently contradicted assertions of a golden age. He stated that far from booming, some parts of the American economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—a priority for the administration—appears to have contracted for eight months in a row and lost approximately 33,000 jobs since January. Pointing to this weakness, the secretary urged the central bank to cut interest rates—a move that could ease financial pressure.

Reacting to public dismay about affordability, the president proposed a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” To numerous struggling Americans, it seems like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—already alarmed about large shortfalls—will approve the proposal. The scheme could increase federal spending, increase borrowing costs, and potentially fuel inflation by putting more money into the economy.

Another supposed fix for cost issues involved introducing 50-year mortgages, with the notion that they could lower housing costs. But, the truth is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to reduce installments—frequently reducing them by a small amount each month. The drawback is that these loans could more than double the total interest borrowers pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Previous Administration and Economic Outlook

In their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have once more blamed Biden for economic problems, such as rising prices. Spokespeople claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are absurd and inaccurate claims. Actually, the former president handed over a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. However, the current administration’s actions—especially his tariffs—have created an economic mess, pushing up prices and reducing economic output.

According to an economist, lead analyst at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. He fears that if large states such as major economies enter a downturn, the nation could slide into a widespread recession. During recessions, people generally possess reduced funds to spend, and inflation usually declines. Sadly, given the highly-touted cost initiative probably ineffective 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.