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Throughout the previous presidential campaign, Donald Trump courted the electorate with promises to reduce costs starting on day one. However, once he assumed office, he seemed to pay minimal attention to affordability issues. This shifted after inflation-weary voters expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Shortly thereafter, his team launched a hastily assembled effort to tackle living costs. Unfortunately, the drive has proven a disorganized endeavor—filled with illogical claims, inconsistencies, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Supermarket Reality

Just two days after the election, the president kicked off his cost-reduction push with a disastrous statement: “Our groceries 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 mingles with fellow billionaires—demonstrated a lack of empathy for millions of Americans facing difficulties when visiting the grocery store. In effect, he ignored their struggles as trivial, suggesting they had it wrong about price levels.

His assertion that everything was “way down” proved absurdly obtuse and inaccurate. In what way could every price be falling when his cherished tariffs were pushing up prices? Recent data show banana prices rose nearly 7% in the last twelve months, beef prices climbed 14.7%, and coffee prices surged by nearly 19%—partly due to import taxes on Brazil’s coffee and beef. In the first three quarters, costs increased in the majority of main grocery groups tracked by the government’s price index, such as meats, poultry, and fish (rising over 4%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Economic Statements

Despite these numbers, the president persists in repeating his misleading narrative about affordability. After the vote, he has stated there is “virtually no inflation,” declared “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “it is far less expensive under Trump than it was under his predecessor.” These statements contradict the fact that general costs have unarguably risen after the previous administration. Currently, inflation is at a 3% annual rate, which is half again as much than the central bank’s 2% goal. Adding to the inaccuracies, he claimed that fuel costs had fallen to around two dollars, even though government figures show they are $3.19.

Confronted by actual conditions and lower approval ratings, some Trump aides evidently warned 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 certain import taxes. This sensible idea clashed with Trump’s absurd assertion that additional taxes would not increase costs for US consumers.

Suggested Fixes and Their Potential Effects

With some tariffs reduced on several food items, the administration will probably announce that he has lowered costs once those foods start declining in price. That would be similar to a firestarter taking credit for putting out a fire that he ignited. On another occasion, when addressing McDonald’s executives, Trump declared that “this is the golden age of America” and told the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements are easy for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to millions of Americans who are struggling—particularly when millions risk cuts to nutrition assistance or rising insurance costs.

Per a recent poll from October, three-quarters of respondents think the state of the economy are fair or poor, while only 26% rate them positive. A separate survey found that a majority of citizens say Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Economic Reality and Proposed Steps

The treasury secretary, the president’s top economic official, recently contradicted claims of a prosperous era. He stated that far from booming, certain sectors of the US economy “have contracted.” The manufacturing sector—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for eight months in a row and shed around 33,000 jobs since January. Citing this weakness, the secretary urged the central bank to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could help affordability.

Reacting to widespread concern about living costs, Trump suggested a direct payment of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “the wealthy.” For many households in need, this sounds like a financial lifeline, but the prospects are dim that lawmakers—already alarmed about large shortfalls—will enact such a plan. This idea could increase federal spending, increase interest rates, and potentially drive prices higher by injecting cash into the economy.

A further supposed fix for cost issues centered on introducing 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that they could reduce monthly mortgage payments. However, reality is that such lengthy loans have minimal impact to reduce installments—often cutting them by a small amount each month. The downside is that these loans could significantly increase the total interest homeowners pay and hinder their accumulation of equity.

Blaming the Previous Administration and Economic Outlook

In their affordability campaign, the administration have again blamed the previous president for financial challenges, including rising prices. Officials claimed they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” This is unfounded and untruthful claims. Actually, Biden left a strong economy, with inflation way down, solid expansion, and unemployment low. However, Trump’s policies—particularly his tariffs—have created an economic mess, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

According to an economist, chief economist at a research firm, 22 states are experiencing economic decline, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. He worries that if key regions such as California and New York tumble into recession, the nation could face a broad economic slump. During recessions, people typically have less money to spend, and inflation usually declines. Unfortunately, with Trump’s much-ballyhooed cost initiative likely to do little to hold down prices, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households cannot handle.