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Throughout last year's race for the White House, Donald Trump wooed the electorate with promises to reduce costs immediately upon taking office. But, once his inauguration, there was minimal attention to the cost of living. All that changed following price-fatigued voters delivered a rebuke at the ballot box. Within days, the Trump administration initiated a hastily assembled campaign to address living costs. Regrettably, the drive is a disorganized endeavor—characterized by illogical claims, contradictions, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and misleading statements.

Out-of-Touch Assertions and Supermarket Reality

Merely 48 hours post-election, Trump began his affordability drive with a poorly received 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 the wealthy leader—often associates with fellow billionaires—revealed a lack of empathy for everyday citizens facing difficulties when visiting the grocery store. Essentially, he dismissed their concerns as unimportant, implying they had it wrong about price levels.

His assertion that everything was “way down” was absurdly obtuse and inaccurate. In what way could every price be decreasing when the taxes he imposed were pushing up prices? Recent data indicate banana prices increased 6.9% over the past year, beef prices climbed almost 15%, and coffee prices surged by nearly 19%—in part because of 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, including animal proteins (rising over 4%), drinks (up 2.8%), and fruits and vegetables (rising slightly).

Contradictions and Inaccuracies in Financial Claims

In spite of these numbers, the president persists in repeating his big lie about affordability. After the vote, he has stated there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “costs have fallen significantly,” and asserted “living is cheaper under Trump than it was under sleepy Joe Biden.” These statements ignore the fact that general costs have clearly increased since Biden left office. Currently, price growth is at a 3 percent per year, that’s 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. In another falsehood, he claimed that gas prices had fallen to around two dollars, despite government figures show they are over three dollars.

Confronted by reality and lower approval ratings, advisers evidently cautioned that his “costs are falling” message made him sound dangerously out of touch from typical Americans. A lot of voters are frustrated about prices continuing to climb following assurances of reductions. As a result, advisers suggested a simple solution: reduce some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. The logical move contradicted Trump’s absurd assertion that new tariffs would not increase costs for US consumers.

Proposed Solutions and Their Potential Effects

As some tariffs being rolled back on coffee, beef, tomatoes, and bananas, the administration will likely claim that he has cut prices once these products begin to fall in price. This would be like an arsonist taking credit for extinguishing a blaze that he ignited. In another instance, while speaking fast-food leaders, he declared that “we are in the golden age of America” and told listeners that “prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” Such statements are easy for a billionaire to make, but they ring hollow to countless households who are struggling—particularly when millions face losing food stamps or rising insurance costs.

According to a survey conducted last fall, three-quarters of respondents think economic conditions are fair or poor, while just a quarter consider them good or excellent. A separate survey showed that 61% of Americans say Trump’s policies have “worsened economic conditions” in the country.

Economic Truth and Suggested Steps

The treasury secretary, Trump’s top economic official, lately disputed assertions of a golden age. He stated that far from booming, some parts of the US economy “have contracted.” The manufacturing sector—which Trump vowed to save—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and shed approximately tens of thousands of positions since January. Citing this weakness, the secretary urged the central bank to cut interest rates—an action that could ease financial pressure.

Reacting to widespread concern about affordability, the president suggested a direct payment of “a payout of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “high income people.” To numerous struggling Americans, it seems like manna from heaven, but it is unlikely that lawmakers—concerned about huge budget deficits—will approve such a plan. The scheme could raise government expenditure, push up interest rates, and potentially drive prices higher by injecting cash into the economy.

A further supposed fix 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 lower monthly payments—often cutting them by just $100 or $200 per month. The downside is that these mortgages could significantly increase the total interest homeowners pay and hinder building home value.

Faulting the Past Government and Economic Outlook

In their cost-cutting effort, Trump and his team have again blamed the previous president for economic problems, such as rising prices. Spokespeople stated they “inherited a disaster from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up Biden’s inflation.” This is absurd and untruthful allegations. In reality, Biden handed over a strong economy, with low price growth, economic growth strong, and minimal joblessness. However, the current administration’s actions—particularly import taxes—have resulted in an economic mess, driving costs higher and slowing GDP growth.

Per Mark Zandi, lead analyst at Moody’s Analytics, 22 states are already in recession, with their economies damaged by Trump’s tariffs. Zandi worries that if large states such as California and New York tumble into recession, the US could slide into a broad economic slump. In downturns, people generally possess less money to spend, and price increases often falls. Unfortunately, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign probably ineffective to control costs, his most effective “tool” for achieving increased affordability might end up triggering an economic contraction—a scenario that hard-pressed households cannot handle.