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During last year's presidential campaign, Donald Trump wooed the electorate with pledges to lower costs starting on day one. However, once his inauguration, he seemed to pay precious little focus to affordability issues. All that changed after inflation-weary voters expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, his team initiated a hastily assembled campaign to tackle affordability. Unfortunately, this initiative is a hot mess—characterized by absurdity, contradictions, magical thinking, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Grocery Store Truth

Merely 48 hours post-election, the president began his cost-reduction push with a disastrous remark: “Our groceries are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” These words from billionaire Trump—who frequently associates with other ultra-rich individuals—demonstrated utter contempt for millions of Americans who struggle every time they go supermarkets. Essentially, he ignored their concerns as unimportant, suggesting they had it wrong about price levels.

This statement that everything was “way down” proved highly misleading and dishonest. In what way could every price be decreasing when his cherished tariffs were increasing prices? Recent data indicate banana prices rose nearly 7% over the past year, the price of beef climbed almost 15%, and the cost of coffee jumped 18.9%—in part because of punitive tariffs on Brazil’s coffee and beef. In the first three quarters, costs increased in five of the six food categories tracked by the Consumer Price Index, including animal proteins (rising over 4%), drinks (up 2.8%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Contradictions and Inaccuracies in Economic Statements

Despite the evidence, the president continues to push his misleading narrative about lower costs. Since election day, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and asserted “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks ignore the fact that prices overall have unarguably risen after the previous administration. Currently, inflation is running at a 3 percent per year, that’s 50% higher than the central bank’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, Trump boasted that gas prices had fallen to around two dollars, despite government figures indicate they average $3.19.

Faced with reality and lower approval ratings, advisers apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” message made him sound disconnected from typical Americans. A lot of voters are angry about prices continuing to climb following promises of reductions. In response, advisers proposed one quick fix: roll back some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move contradicted the president’s unrealistic claim that new tariffs would not increase costs for US consumers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Potential Effects

With some tariffs being rolled back on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will likely claim that he has cut prices once these products start declining in price. This would be similar to a firestarter boasting for extinguishing a blaze that he ignited. On another occasion, while speaking fast-food leaders, Trump declared that “we are in the golden age of America” and assured listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but they ring hollow to millions of Americans facing hardships—particularly when millions face losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a survey conducted last fall, three-quarters of respondents believe economic conditions are fair or poor, while only 26% rate them good or excellent. A separate survey found that a majority of citizens feel the administration’s actions have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Financial Reality and Proposed Steps

The treasury secretary, the president’s top economic official, recently disputed claims of a prosperous era. He stated that far from booming, some parts of the US economy “are in recession.” The manufacturing sector—which Trump vowed to save—appears to have contracted for multiple consecutive months and lost around tens of thousands of positions this year. Pointing to this weakness, Bessent urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates—an action that could help affordability.

In response to public dismay about affordability, Trump suggested a cash handout of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” not for “the wealthy.” To numerous struggling Americans, this sounds like manna from heaven, but the prospects are dim that lawmakers—concerned about huge budget deficits—will enact the proposal. The scheme could increase federal spending, increase interest rates, and potentially drive prices higher by injecting cash into the economy.

Another supposed fix for cost issues centered on introducing half-century home loans, with the notion that this would lower housing costs. But, the truth is that such lengthy loans have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—often cutting them by just $100 or $200 per month. The downside is that these mortgages could significantly increase the overall cost borrowers pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Past Government and Economic Outlook

In their cost-cutting effort, the administration have once more blamed the previous president for economic problems, such as increasing costs. Spokespeople claimed they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “addressing Biden’s inflation.” This is absurd and inaccurate allegations. In reality, the former president left a robust economic situation, with low price growth, solid expansion, and minimal joblessness. But, Trump’s policies—especially his tariffs—have created an economic mess, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, numerous regions are experiencing economic decline, with their economies damaged by the administration’s trade policies. He worries that if key regions like major economies enter a downturn, the US could face a broad economic slump. In downturns, people generally possess less money to spend, and price increases usually declines. Unfortunately, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed cost initiative probably ineffective to control costs, his primary method for improving living standards might end up pushing the nation into recession—something that struggling Americans cannot handle.