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Throughout last year's race for the White House, the former president courted the electorate with pledges to reduce costs immediately upon taking office. But, after his inauguration, there was precious little attention to affordability issues. All that changed following price-fatigued voters expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration initiated a slapdash campaign to tackle affordability. Unfortunately, the drive has proven a hot mess—characterized by absurdity, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, scapegoating, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Detached Claims and Grocery Store Truth

Just two days after the election, the president kicked off his cost-reduction push with a disastrous statement: “Food prices are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” These words from billionaire Trump—often mingles with fellow billionaires—revealed utter contempt for everyday citizens who struggle every time they go the grocery store. In effect, he ignored their struggles as unimportant, implying they were mistaken about price levels.

His assertion about declining prices was highly misleading and inaccurate. In what way could every price be falling when the taxes he imposed were pushing up prices? Recent data show banana prices rose 6.9% over the past year, beef prices went up 14.7%, and the cost of coffee jumped by nearly 19%—partly because of punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. In the first three quarters, costs increased in five of the six food categories monitored by the government’s price index, including animal proteins (rising over 4%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Financial Claims

In spite of the evidence, the president continues to push his misleading narrative about lower costs. After the vote, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “prices are way down,” and argued “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks contradict the reality that prices overall have unarguably risen since Biden left office. At present, price growth is at a 3 percent per year, that’s 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, he boasted that gas prices had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, even though official data indicate they are over three dollars.

Faced with reality and declining opinion polls, advisers apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” rhetoric made him sound disconnected from ordinary people. Many citizens are angry about prices continuing to climb following assurances of decreases. In response, aides proposed one quick fix: reduce certain import taxes. The logical move clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs would not increase costs for US consumers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Possible Effects

With certain taxes being rolled back on several food items, the administration will probably claim that he has cut prices once those foods start declining in price. That would be like an arsonist boasting for extinguishing a blaze that he ignited. In another instance, while speaking fast-food leaders, Trump declared that “this is the golden age of America” and told listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to countless households who are struggling—particularly when millions risk cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

Per a recent poll conducted last fall, 74% of Americans think the state of the economy are mediocre or bad, while only 26% rate them positive. A separate survey showed that a majority of citizens feel the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Reality and Suggested Steps

The treasury secretary, Trump’s top economic official, lately disputed claims of a prosperous era. He stated that instead of thriving, certain sectors of the US economy “are in recession.” Industrial production—which Trump vowed to save—appears to have contracted for multiple consecutive months and lost approximately tens of thousands of positions since January. Citing these challenges, Bessent called on the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could help affordability.

Reacting to public dismay about affordability, Trump suggested a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” To numerous struggling Americans, it seems like a financial lifeline, but the prospects are dim that lawmakers—already alarmed about large shortfalls—will approve such a plan. This idea would likely raise government expenditure, push up borrowing costs, and potentially fuel inflation by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

A further proposed solution for affordability centered on creating 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. But, reality is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to reduce installments—frequently reducing them by a small amount per month. The drawback is that these loans could more than double the overall cost homeowners pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Economic Outlook

In their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have again pointed fingers at Biden for economic problems, including rising prices. Officials stated they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is absurd and inaccurate claims. Actually, Biden handed over a robust economic situation, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. But, Trump’s policies—especially his tariffs—have created an economic mess, pushing up prices and slowing GDP growth.

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. Zandi fears that if key regions such as California and New York enter a downturn, the nation could slide into a widespread recession. In downturns, people generally possess less money to spend, and price increases often falls. Unfortunately, given the highly-touted affordability campaign likely to do little to control costs, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—something that struggling Americans really can’t afford.