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During last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump wooed voters with promises to reduce costs immediately upon taking office. However, once he assumed office, there was minimal attention to the cost of living. All that changed after price-fatigued voters delivered a rebuke at the polls. Within days, the Trump administration launched a slapdash campaign to address affordability. Unfortunately, the drive has proven a hot mess—filled with illogical claims, contradictions, unrealistic expectations, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Assertions and Grocery Store Reality

Merely 48 hours after the election, Trump 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 affordability.” These words from billionaire Trump—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 dismissed their concerns as unimportant, suggesting they had it wrong about actual costs.

His assertion about declining prices proved absurdly obtuse and inaccurate. How could all costs be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were pushing up prices? Recent data indicate the cost of bananas rose nearly 7% in the last twelve months, the price of beef climbed 14.7%, and coffee prices surged by nearly 19%—in part because of punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. Between January and September, costs increased in the majority of main grocery groups tracked by the Consumer Price Index, such as animal proteins (rising over 4%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and produce (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Inaccuracies in Economic Claims

Despite these numbers, Trump continues to push his big lie about affordability. After the vote, he has claimed there is “virtually no inflation,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements contradict the reality that prices overall have unarguably risen since Biden left office. At present, price growth is at a 3% annual rate, that’s 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, he boasted that gas prices had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, even though government figures indicate they are over three dollars.

Confronted by actual conditions and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides apparently cautioned that his “costs are falling” message portrayed him as disconnected from typical Americans. Many voters are frustrated about prices continuing to climb after assurances of decreases. In response, advisers proposed one quick fix: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move contradicted Trump’s absurd assertion that additional taxes wouldn’t raise prices for US consumers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Possible Impact

With some tariffs reduced on several food items, the administration will probably announce that he has cut prices once these products start declining in price. That would be similar to a firestarter taking credit for extinguishing a fire that he had started. On another occasion, while speaking fast-food leaders, he stated that “this is the golden age of America” and assured listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a billionaire to make, but they ring hollow to millions of Americans facing hardships—especially when many face losing food stamps or rising insurance costs.

According to a survey from October, three-quarters of respondents believe economic conditions are mediocre or bad, while just a quarter rate them good or excellent. Another poll found that 61% of Americans feel the administration’s actions have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Economic Truth and Proposed Measures

The treasury secretary, Trump’s top economic official, recently contradicted claims of a golden age. He stated that far from booming, certain sectors 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 around tens of thousands of positions since January. Pointing to this weakness, the secretary urged the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could help affordability.

In response to widespread concern about affordability, the president suggested a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” For many struggling Americans, this sounds like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—concerned about large shortfalls—will enact the proposal. The scheme could increase federal spending, increase interest rates, and possibly fuel inflation by injecting cash into consumers’ pockets.

A further supposed fix for cost issues involved introducing 50-year mortgages, with the notion that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. But, reality is that such lengthy loans would do little to reduce installments—frequently reducing them by a small amount per month. The downside is that these loans could more than double the overall cost borrowers pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Past Government and Financial Outlook

As part of their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have once more blamed the previous president for economic problems, including increasing costs. Officials stated they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is unfounded and inaccurate allegations. Actually, the former president left a robust economic situation, with inflation way down, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. However, Trump’s policies—particularly import taxes—have created an difficult situation, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

According to Mark Zandi, lead analyst at a research firm, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their conditions worsened by the administration’s trade policies. Zandi fears that if large states like California and New York tumble into recession, the US could slide into a widespread recession. In downturns, people typically have less money to spend, and inflation often falls. Unfortunately, given the highly-touted affordability campaign probably ineffective to hold down prices, his primary method for improving living standards might end up triggering an economic contraction—something that struggling Americans really can’t afford.