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Throughout last year's race for the White House, the former president wooed voters with promises to reduce costs starting on day one. However, once he assumed office, there was precious little focus to the cost of living. This shifted following inflation-weary citizens expressed dissatisfaction at the polls. Within days, the Trump administration initiated a slapdash effort to address living costs. Unfortunately, this initiative is a disorganized endeavor—characterized by illogical claims, contradictions, magical thinking, blame-shifting, and Trumpian dishonesty.

Out-of-Touch Claims and Grocery Store Truth

Merely 48 hours after the election, Trump began his affordability drive with a disastrous remark: “Food prices are way down. Everything is way down… So I don’t want to hear about affordability.” This comment from the wealthy leader—often associates with fellow billionaires—revealed utter contempt for everyday citizens facing difficulties when visiting supermarkets. Essentially, he dismissed their struggles as unimportant, implying they had it wrong about actual costs.

This statement about declining prices proved highly misleading and inaccurate. How could every price be falling when the taxes he imposed were increasing prices? Recent data show banana prices increased nearly 7% in the last twelve months, beef prices went up almost 15%, and coffee prices surged 18.9%—partly because of import taxes applied to Brazilian products. Between January and September, costs increased in five of the six main grocery groups tracked by the government’s price index, including animal proteins (up 4.5%), non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.8%), and produce (rising slightly).

Inconsistencies and Falsehoods in Financial Claims

In spite of the evidence, the president persists in repeating his big lie about lower costs. After the vote, he has claimed there is “almost no price increases,” insisted “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 prices overall have clearly increased since Biden left office. Currently, inflation is at a 3 percent per year, that’s 50% higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2 percent. Adding to the inaccuracies, he boasted that fuel costs had dropped to around two dollars, despite official data show they are $3.19.

Confronted by actual conditions and declining opinion polls, some Trump aides evidently warned that his “prices are down” message portrayed him as disconnected from typical Americans. Many citizens are frustrated about rising costs after assurances of decreases. In response, aides proposed a simple solution: roll back some of Trump’s beloved tariffs. This sensible idea contradicted Trump’s absurd assertion that additional taxes would not increase costs for American shoppers.

Proposed Fixes and Their Potential Impact

With certain taxes being rolled back on several food items, the administration will likely announce that he has cut prices once these products begin to fall in price. That would be like an arsonist taking credit for putting out a fire that he ignited. In another instance, when addressing fast-food leaders, Trump declared that “this is the peak period of America” and told listeners that “costs are decreasing and all of that stuff.” Such statements come naturally for a wealthy individual to make, but they ring hollow to millions of Americans who are struggling—especially when many risk losing food stamps or skyrocketing health premiums.

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

Financial Truth and Proposed Steps

The treasury secretary, the president’s top economic official, lately contradicted claims of a golden age. He noted that far from booming, certain sectors of the US economy “are in recession.” Industrial production—a priority for the administration—seems to have shrunk for multiple consecutive months and lost around tens of thousands of positions this year. Pointing to these challenges, Bessent urged the Federal Reserve to reduce borrowing costs—a move that could ease financial pressure.

Reacting to widespread concern about living costs, Trump suggested a cash handout of “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” excluding “the wealthy.” For many struggling Americans, this sounds like a financial lifeline, but it is unlikely that Congress—already alarmed about large shortfalls—will enact such a plan. The scheme would likely increase federal spending, increase interest rates, and possibly drive prices higher by putting more money into the economy.

Another proposed solution for affordability involved creating 50-year mortgages, based on the idea that this would reduce monthly mortgage payments. But, reality is that such lengthy loans have minimal impact to lower monthly payments—frequently cutting them by just $100 or $200 each month. The downside is that these loans could more than double the total interest homeowners pay and hinder building home value.

Faulting the Previous Administration and Economic Prospects

As part of their cost-cutting effort, the administration have once more blamed Biden for financial challenges, including increasing costs. Spokespeople stated they “faced a mess from Joe Biden” and were “cleaning up the prior administration’s price hikes.” These are unfounded and untruthful claims. In reality, Biden left a strong economy, with low price growth, solid expansion, and unemployment low. But, Trump’s policies—especially his tariffs—have created an economic mess, pushing up prices and reducing economic output.

Per Mark Zandi, lead analyst at a research firm, numerous regions are experiencing economic decline, with their economies damaged by the administration’s trade policies. Zandi fears that if large states such as California and New York tumble into recession, the nation could slide into a broad economic slump. In downturns, consumers generally possess less money to spend, and inflation usually declines. Sadly, given Trump’s much-ballyhooed affordability campaign probably ineffective to hold down prices, his primary method for improving living standards might prove to be triggering an economic contraction—something that hard-pressed households really can’t afford.