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During the previous race for the White House, Donald Trump wooed voters with pledges to reduce costs immediately upon taking office. However, after he assumed office, he seemed to pay minimal attention to affordability issues. All that changed following inflation-weary voters delivered a rebuke at the polls. Shortly thereafter, his team initiated a hastily assembled campaign to tackle living costs. Unfortunately, the drive is a hot mess—filled with absurdity, contradictions, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Supermarket Reality

Just two days post-election, the president kicked off his cost-reduction push with a disastrous remark: “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 fellow billionaires—revealed utter contempt for millions of Americans who struggle every time they go supermarkets. Essentially, he ignored their struggles as trivial, implying they had it wrong about price levels.

His assertion about declining prices proved highly misleading and dishonest. How could every price be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were increasing costs? Recent data show the cost of bananas rose 6.9% in the last twelve months, beef prices went up 14.7%, and coffee prices surged by nearly 19%—partly due to punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. Between January and September, costs increased in the majority of food categories monitored by the government’s price index, such as animal proteins (up 4.5%), drinks (up 2.8%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Financial Statements

Despite the evidence, Trump continues to push his big lie about affordability. Since election day, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “prices are way down,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks ignore the reality that general costs have unarguably risen after the previous administration. Currently, inflation is running at a 3 percent per year, which is half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, he claimed that gas prices had fallen to around two dollars, despite government figures indicate they are $3.19.

Faced with actual conditions and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides apparently warned that his “prices are down” message portrayed him as dangerously out of touch from typical Americans. A lot of citizens are angry about prices continuing to climb following promises of reductions. In response, aides proposed a simple solution: roll back some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that additional taxes wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Possible Impact

With some tariffs being rolled back on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will likely announce that he has cut prices once those foods begin to fall in price. That would be like an arsonist boasting for putting out a fire that he had started. In another instance, when addressing fast-food leaders, he stated that “this is the golden age of America” and assured the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements come naturally for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to countless households who are struggling—particularly when many risk losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a recent poll conducted last fall, 74% of Americans believe economic conditions are mediocre or bad, while just a quarter consider them good or excellent. A separate survey showed that 61% of Americans say Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Reality and Proposed Steps

Scott Bessent, Trump’s chief financial officer, recently contradicted assertions of a prosperous era. He noted that far from booming, certain sectors of the American economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and lost around tens of thousands of positions since January. Pointing to this weakness, the secretary urged the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could help affordability.

Reacting to widespread concern about living costs, Trump suggested a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” For many households in need, it seems like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that Congress—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will enact such a plan. The scheme would likely increase federal spending, push up interest rates, and possibly fuel inflation by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

A further proposed solution for cost issues involved introducing 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that they could lower housing costs. But, reality is that such lengthy loans have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—frequently reducing them by just $100 or $200 each month. The downside is that these mortgages could significantly increase the overall cost homeowners pay and slow building home value.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Economic Prospects

In their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have again pointed fingers at the previous president for financial challenges, such as rising prices. Officials claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “addressing Biden’s inflation.” This is absurd and inaccurate allegations. Actually, Biden handed over a robust economic situation, with low price growth, solid expansion, and minimal joblessness. However, Trump’s policies—especially his tariffs—have created an difficult situation, pushing up prices and reducing economic output.

According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi fears that if key regions such as major economies tumble into recession, the US could slide into a broad economic slump. During recessions, people generally possess less money to spend, and inflation usually declines. Sadly, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign likely to do little to hold down prices, his primary method for improving living standards might prove to be pushing the nation into recession—a scenario that struggling Americans really can’t afford.