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During last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump courted voters with promises to reduce prices immediately upon taking office. But, after his inauguration, there was precious little attention to affordability issues. This shifted after price-fatigued voters expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Within days, the Trump administration launched a hastily assembled effort to tackle living costs. Unfortunately, the drive is a hot mess—characterized by illogical claims, inconsistencies, magical thinking, scapegoating, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Out-of-Touch Assertions and Supermarket Reality

Just two days post-election, Trump kicked off his cost-reduction push with a poorly received statement: “Food prices are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” These words from the wealthy leader—who frequently mingles with fellow billionaires—revealed a lack of empathy for everyday citizens who struggle when visiting the grocery store. In effect, he dismissed their concerns as unimportant, suggesting they had it wrong about price levels.

This statement about declining prices proved absurdly obtuse and inaccurate. How could every price be falling when his cherished tariffs were increasing costs? Recent data indicate the cost of bananas increased 6.9% in the last twelve months, the price of beef went up 14.7%, and coffee prices surged 18.9%—partly because of import taxes applied to Brazilian products. In the first three quarters, prices rose in five of the six food categories monitored by the Consumer Price Index, such as animal proteins (rising over 4%), drinks (up 2.8%), and fruits and vegetables (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Financial Statements

Despite the evidence, Trump continues to push his misleading narrative about lower costs. 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 clearly increased since Biden left office. Currently, inflation is running at a 3% annual rate, which is half again as much than the central bank’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump boasted that fuel costs had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, despite government figures show they are over three dollars.

Confronted by actual conditions and lower approval ratings, some Trump aides apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” message portrayed him as disconnected from ordinary people. Many voters are frustrated about prices continuing to climb after promises of reductions. In response, advisers suggested one quick fix: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea 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 likely claim that he has lowered costs once those foods begin to fall in price. This would be similar to a firestarter taking credit for extinguishing a fire that he ignited. On another occasion, when addressing McDonald’s executives, Trump declared 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 wealthy individual to make, but they ring hollow to countless households facing hardships—especially when many risk losing food stamps or rising insurance costs.

Per a recent poll from October, three-quarters of respondents 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 the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Reality and Proposed Measures

The treasury secretary, Trump’s top economic official, lately contradicted claims of a prosperous era. He noted that far from booming, certain sectors of the American economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and shed approximately 33,000 jobs since January. Citing this weakness, Bessent called on the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could ease financial pressure.

In response to widespread concern about affordability, Trump proposed a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” To numerous struggling Americans, this sounds like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that Congress—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will enact such a plan. This idea could increase federal spending, increase borrowing costs, and potentially fuel inflation by injecting cash into consumers’ pockets.

Another supposed fix for affordability involved creating 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, reality is that 50-year mortgages have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—frequently reducing them by just $100 or $200 each month. The downside is that these loans could more than double the total interest homeowners pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Previous Administration and Financial Outlook

In their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have once more pointed fingers at Biden for financial challenges, such as increasing costs. Officials stated they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is unfounded and untruthful allegations. Actually, the former president left a strong economy, with low price growth, solid expansion, and minimal joblessness. However, the current administration’s actions—especially his tariffs—have resulted in an difficult situation, pushing up prices and slowing GDP growth.

Per Mark Zandi, lead analyst at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi worries that if key regions like major economies enter a downturn, the nation could slide into a widespread recession. In downturns, consumers typically have reduced funds to spend, and inflation often falls. Sadly, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign probably ineffective to hold down prices, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—a scenario that struggling Americans cannot handle.