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During last year's presidential campaign, the former president wooed voters with pledges to reduce costs immediately upon taking office. However, once he assumed office, there was minimal attention to the cost of living. This shifted after inflation-weary voters expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Within days, the Trump administration launched a hastily assembled campaign to address affordability. Regrettably, the drive is a disorganized endeavor—filled with absurdity, inconsistencies, unrealistic expectations, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Detached Assertions and Grocery Store Truth

Merely 48 hours after the election, the president kicked off his affordability drive with a disastrous remark: “Our groceries are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about the cost of living.” This comment from the wealthy leader—who frequently associates with other ultra-rich individuals—demonstrated a lack of empathy for everyday citizens who struggle when visiting supermarkets. In effect, he ignored their concerns as trivial, suggesting they were mistaken about price levels.

This statement that everything was “way down” was absurdly obtuse and inaccurate. In what way could every price be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were pushing up prices? Official statistics indicate banana prices rose 6.9% in the last twelve months, the price of beef went up 14.7%, and the cost of coffee surged 18.9%—partly because of punitive tariffs applied to Brazilian products. Between January and September, costs increased in five of the six food categories tracked by the Consumer Price Index, including animal proteins (up 4.5%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and fruits and vegetables (up 1.3%).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Financial Statements

Despite these numbers, Trump continues to push his big lie about lower costs. After the vote, 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 sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks contradict the reality that prices overall have clearly increased after the previous administration. At present, price growth is running at a 3 percent per year, that’s half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. In another falsehood, Trump claimed that fuel costs had dropped to around two dollars, despite official data show they average over three dollars.

Confronted by reality and declining opinion polls, advisers evidently warned that his “costs are falling” rhetoric portrayed him as disconnected from ordinary people. Many voters are angry about rising costs after assurances of reductions. As a result, advisers proposed one quick fix: reduce certain import taxes. The logical move contradicted Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for US consumers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Potential Effects

With certain taxes being rolled back on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will probably claim that he has lowered costs once these products start declining in price. That would be like an arsonist boasting for putting out a blaze that he had started. On another occasion, when addressing fast-food leaders, he declared that “we are in the peak period of America” and assured the audience that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” Such statements are easy for a wealthy individual to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans who are struggling—especially when many risk cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

According to a survey conducted last fall, three-quarters of respondents think the state of the economy are mediocre or bad, while just a quarter consider them good or excellent. A separate survey found that 61% of Americans say 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, recently disputed claims of a golden age. He noted that far from booming, certain sectors of the American economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—appears to have contracted for multiple consecutive months and lost approximately tens of thousands of positions this year. Citing this weakness, Bessent urged the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—an action that could ease financial pressure.

Reacting to widespread concern about affordability, Trump proposed a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” not for “high income people.” To numerous households in need, it seems like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that Congress—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will enact the proposal. The scheme could raise government expenditure, push up interest rates, and possibly drive prices higher by injecting cash into the economy.

Another supposed fix for cost issues centered on creating half-century home loans, based on the idea that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, reality is that 50-year mortgages would do little to lower monthly payments—often reducing them by just $100 or $200 per month. The drawback is that these mortgages could more than double the total interest homeowners pay and slow building home value.

Blaming the Previous Administration and Economic Prospects

In their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have once more blamed the previous president for economic problems, such as rising prices. Spokespeople stated they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are unfounded and inaccurate claims. Actually, the former president left a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and unemployment low. However, Trump’s policies—especially his tariffs—have created an difficult situation, 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 economies damaged by the administration’s trade policies. Zandi worries that if key regions like California and New York tumble into recession, the US could face a broad economic slump. In downturns, consumers generally possess less money to spend, and inflation usually declines. Sadly, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign probably ineffective to hold down prices, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—a scenario that struggling Americans cannot handle.