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Throughout last year's race for the White House, the former president courted the electorate with promises to lower costs immediately upon taking office. But, once his inauguration, he seemed to pay precious little focus to affordability issues. All that changed after inflation-weary citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the ballot box. Within days, the Trump administration launched a hastily assembled effort to tackle affordability. Regrettably, the drive is a disorganized endeavor—filled with illogical claims, inconsistencies, magical thinking, scapegoating, and misleading statements.

Detached Assertions and Supermarket Reality

Just two days after the election, the president began his cost-reduction push with a poorly received statement: “Our groceries are way down. All items 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 a lack of empathy for everyday citizens who struggle when visiting the grocery store. In effect, he ignored their struggles as trivial, implying they had it wrong about price levels.

His assertion that everything was “way down” was highly misleading and inaccurate. In what way could all costs be falling when the taxes he imposed were pushing up prices? Recent data indicate banana prices rose nearly 7% over the past year, the price of beef climbed almost 15%, and coffee prices surged by nearly 19%—in part due to import taxes on Brazil’s coffee and beef. In the first three quarters, prices rose in the majority of main grocery groups tracked by the Consumer Price Index, such as animal proteins (rising over 4%), drinks (increasing nearly 3%), and produce (up 1.3%).

Contradictions and Inaccuracies in Economic Statements

Despite these numbers, the president persists in repeating his misleading narrative about affordability. Since election day, he has claimed there is “virtually no inflation,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and argued “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” Such remarks contradict the reality that prices overall have unarguably risen after the previous administration. At present, price growth is at a 3 percent per year, that’s half again as much than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, he boasted that fuel costs had fallen to nearly $2 a gallon, even though government figures indicate they average $3.19.

Confronted by reality and declining opinion polls, advisers apparently cautioned that his “prices are down” rhetoric made him sound dangerously out of touch from ordinary people. Many citizens are frustrated about rising costs following assurances of reductions. As a result, advisers suggested a simple solution: roll back certain import taxes. The logical move contradicted the president’s unrealistic claim that new tariffs wouldn’t raise prices for American shoppers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Possible Effects

As certain taxes reduced on several food items, the administration will likely claim that he has cut prices once these products begin to fall in price. That would be similar to a firestarter taking credit for putting out a blaze that he ignited. On another occasion, when addressing McDonald’s executives, he stated that “we are in the golden age of America” and assured the audience that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” These comments come naturally for a billionaire to make, but seem insincere to countless households who are struggling—especially when millions risk cuts to nutrition assistance or skyrocketing health premiums.

Per a survey from October, 74% of Americans believe the state of the economy are fair or poor, while only 26% consider them positive. Another poll found that a majority of citizens feel Trump’s policies have “made the economy worse” in the country.

Financial Truth and Proposed Steps

Scott Bessent, the president’s chief financial officer, lately disputed assertions of a prosperous era. He stated that far from booming, some parts of the US economy “have contracted.” Industrial production—a priority for the administration—appears to have contracted for multiple consecutive months and lost approximately 33,000 jobs this year. Pointing to these challenges, the secretary urged the central bank to cut interest rates—an action that could help affordability.

Reacting to public dismay about affordability, the president proposed a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” For many households in need, it seems like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—concerned about huge budget deficits—will enact the proposal. The scheme could raise government expenditure, increase borrowing costs, and potentially drive prices higher by putting more money into consumers’ pockets.

Another supposed fix for cost issues centered on creating 50-year mortgages, with the notion that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. But, reality is that such lengthy loans have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—often cutting them by a small amount per month. The drawback is that these mortgages could more than double the overall cost borrowers pay and slow their accumulation of equity.

Faulting the Past Government and Financial Outlook

As part of their affordability campaign, Trump and his team have again blamed the previous president for economic problems, such as rising prices. Officials stated they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “addressing the prior administration’s price hikes.” This is absurd and untruthful allegations. Actually, Biden left a strong economy, with low price growth, solid expansion, and minimal joblessness. However, the current administration’s actions—particularly his tariffs—have created an difficult situation, driving costs higher and reducing economic output.

According to an economist, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, numerous regions are already in recession, with their conditions worsened by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi worries that if key regions such as California and New York enter a downturn, the nation could slide into a widespread recession. During recessions, people generally possess reduced funds to spend, and price increases often falls. Unfortunately, given the highly-touted affordability campaign likely to do little to control costs, his primary method for achieving increased affordability might prove to be pushing the nation into recession—something that struggling Americans really can’t afford.