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Throughout last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump courted voters with pledges to lower costs starting on day one. However, after his inauguration, there was precious little attention to affordability issues. This shifted after price-fatigued citizens delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration launched a slapdash campaign to address affordability. Unfortunately, this initiative has proven a disorganized endeavor—filled with illogical claims, contradictions, unrealistic expectations, scapegoating, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Detached Claims and Supermarket Truth

Just two days post-election, Trump kicked off his affordability drive with a disastrous statement: “Food prices are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about the cost of living.” This comment from billionaire Trump—often associates with other ultra-rich individuals—revealed a lack of empathy for everyday citizens who struggle when visiting supermarkets. Essentially, he dismissed their struggles as trivial, implying they were mistaken about actual costs.

His assertion about declining prices was highly misleading and inaccurate. How could all costs be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were pushing up prices? Official statistics show the cost of bananas rose 6.9% over the past year, the price of beef went up almost 15%, and coffee prices surged by nearly 19%—in part due to punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. In the first three quarters, prices rose in the majority of main grocery groups tracked by the government’s price index, such as animal proteins (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (increasing nearly 3%), and fruits and vegetables (up 1.3%).

Contradictions and Falsehoods in Economic Statements

Despite the evidence, the president 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 argued “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” Such remarks ignore the fact that general costs have clearly increased after the previous administration. 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, Trump boasted that fuel costs had dropped to nearly $2 a gallon, despite official data show they are over three dollars.

Faced with reality and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides evidently cautioned that his “costs are falling” message made him sound dangerously out of touch from typical Americans. Many citizens are frustrated about rising costs following assurances of decreases. As a result, advisers proposed a simple solution: reduce certain import taxes. This sensible idea contradicted Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for US consumers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Possible Impact

As some tariffs reduced on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will probably claim that he has lowered costs once these products start declining in price. This would be similar to a firestarter boasting for putting out a blaze that he had started. In another instance, while speaking fast-food leaders, he stated that “this is the peak period of America” and told listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments are easy for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans facing hardships—particularly when millions face losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a survey from October, three-quarters of respondents think economic conditions are fair or poor, while just a quarter consider them positive. Another poll found that a majority of citizens say the administration’s actions have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Economic Truth and Suggested Steps

The treasury secretary, the president’s chief financial officer, lately contradicted claims of a golden age. He stated that far from booming, some parts of the American economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—a priority for the administration—appears to have contracted for eight months in a row and lost approximately 33,000 jobs since January. Citing this weakness, Bessent urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—an action that could ease financial pressure.

Reacting to widespread concern about affordability, the president proposed a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” To numerous households in need, this sounds like manna from heaven, but the prospects are dim that Congress—already alarmed about huge budget deficits—will enact the proposal. The scheme could increase federal spending, push up borrowing costs, and potentially fuel inflation by injecting cash into consumers’ pockets.

A further proposed solution for affordability involved introducing 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. But, reality is that such lengthy loans have minimal impact to reduce installments—frequently reducing them by a small amount each month. The downside is that these loans could more than double the overall cost borrowers pay and slow building home value.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Financial Prospects

In their cost-cutting effort, the administration have again pointed fingers at the previous president for economic problems, including rising prices. Spokespeople stated they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “addressing Biden’s inflation.” This is absurd and inaccurate allegations. Actually, the former president handed over a strong economy, with low price growth, solid expansion, and minimal joblessness. However, Trump’s policies—especially his tariffs—have resulted in an economic mess, pushing up prices and reducing economic output.

According to an economist, lead analyst at a research firm, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their economies damaged by the administration’s trade policies. Zandi worries that if large states such as California and New York enter a downturn, the nation could slide into a broad economic slump. In downturns, people typically have reduced funds to spend, and price increases usually declines. Sadly, with the highly-touted affordability campaign probably ineffective to control costs, his primary method for improving living standards might end up triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.